Blinding
by onyxed
Summary: It's two years later and Jim's life isn't all he thought it would be. He has mostly everything he's ever wanted. But nothing seems to compare to his first voyage. Now, everything is about to change with a new journey. Love. Jim/Melody
1. Chapter 1

The air was crisp and cool across his face as the ship glided forward. He couldn't get enough of this feeling. The feeling of not knowing what road lay before him or of having to always be on everyone else's rules. Now he only had himself to follow, his own heart to guide him.

The RLS Legacy, he was sure, was floating through space far away at the behest of it's seemingly arduous captain. Sometimes he missed them. Dilbert and Amelia. His mother most of all, even B.E.N. But he took comfort in the fact that he'd given them all he could, something Sarah had always gone to great lengths to reassure him was more than enough. He sometimes couldn't help the feeling that he'd also abandoned her, like his father.

But he wasn't like his father at all. Jim sent messages to his mother every week along with money and trinkets from his voyages. He was doing something with his life. His days at the Academy were behind him, he was a full fledged captain now. His own ship and his own, albeit modest, crew. It'd been a long two years since his adventure to Treasure Planet. Sometimes it seemed like a different life.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a tap at his shoulder. Jim turned to see a man not much older than him. He had coiffed blonde hair and a stature that let anyone within earshot know that there was rarely a moment he wasn't in charge. "Yes, Mr. Herms?" Jim asked a little exasperated as he slumped against the helm.

"Captain Hawkins." The man addressed him. "I was wondering how we're doing on time. I have an important meeting on Earth."

"Since you asked me an hour ago?" He couldn't avoid the sarcasm in his voice, this man maybe paying him quite a bit to be chauffeured to one of the farthest parts of the galaxy but he was pompous and Jim really wanted to take him down a peg or two. "Mr. Herms, I assure you that you will arrive to your meeting on time. In fact you may even be early. But I am the captain of this ship, I'll sail how I see fit-"

"And slow is how you see fit?" Mr. Herms interrupted.

"Yes, it is." Jim stood up straight and stared the man square in the eye. "I don't believe Mr. Herms that you've ever been trained as ship man, because I assume that if you were you'd be sailing your own ship instead of paying me to do it. And if you were you'd know that those-" Jim stabbed his finger in the air, pointing to a swirling pinkish green cloud among several that littered their path, "... mean there are star storms ahead. And trust me, you don't want to be in the middle of one of those this time of year. Because if you'd been trained you'd know that being caught in one at this time would tear this ship apart like paper in water." Satisfied by the abashed look on Mr. Herms' face, Jim continued more calmly. "Now if you don't mind, _Sir_, I'm going to commandeer this ship as safely as possible to Earth. And I'll be doing it without you sniffing over my shoulder."

Mr. Herms left to the deck below without another word. He really hated it when he was hired by guys like Mr. Herms. Who simply believed that because they'd hired you that also meant that they knew better. He vaguely thought of the hypocrisy of that thought. On his first voyage to Treasure Planet, he'd been nearly as arrogant.

Stashing those thoughts away Jim turned his gaze back to the bow of the ship. They'd been on the ship for most of the week. Earth was at the farthest reaches of the galaxy, It would be Jim's first time there. From what he'd heard, the planet was enormous and mostly untouched by the alien technology and lifeforms he'd spent his whole life around. He was also under the impression that not only were the people of Earth untouched by his world, most most didn't even know it existed. He deduced this because he'd been specifically instructed to land in the part of the ocean that they wouldn't be noticed.

Jim felt another nudge, but this time it was something familiar and small settling on his left shoulder. Jim turned to the tiny pink creature with a smile and stroked his finger across it's back. "Hey Morph, where y'been?" His question was met with an ambivalent little gurgle. Jim laughed and adjusted the helm. He stared ahead in a daze, still caught up in his own thoughts. "I wonder what it's like there..." His voice came out sounding as distant as his thoughts felt.

There was a short gurgle from his shoulder. Jim glanced at Morph before gesturing ahead. "Earth."

Morph sprung from his shoulder and turned into a dozen tiny people bustling past each other. "All humans, huh?" Morph chirped and settled back on Jim's shoulder. "That can't be very interesting. We may be there for awhile, I don't even know why I agreed to this stupid trip." The tiny pink creature flew up, suddenly becoming several gold coins that clinked as they fell into his breast pocket. "Oh yeah, that's why." His voice unsurprised when Morph began making consistent chirps, indicating that he'd fallen asleep in Jim's pocket.

"Maybe Herms is right. After all, the faster we get there, the sooner we can leave." Jim eased the ship forward a bit faster with a sly grin on his face and the wind in his hair.


	2. Chapter 2

It was dawn by the time Jim finally touched the ship down on the ocean. Jim made sure the boat was undetected in it's arrival and they would reach their intended destination before midday. He'd been unsurprised earlier in the night to see that there was nothing particularly extraordinary about Earth, it's vegetation and vast lakes were similar to those of his home planet. He had yet to glance any other humans but it didn't matter anyway, making friends was not on his agenda. It was to get the final bit of money he needed to fund his own voyages across the galaxy.

He dreamt about it as he steered the ship. Where he would go, he didn't know. What he would see, he could only imagine. Maybe he'd look up Silver. Instantly Jim looked up at the purplish pink sky. In the past two years he'd only heard from the cyborg once. A letter of congratulations when he graduated from the Academy a whole year early. It came with an early birthday gift, Jim was now nineteen. One of the youngest accredited captains in years.

Jim subconsciously touched his hand to the compass in his pocket, running his thumb over the smooth rose gold surface.

"Any news for Herms? He's like kid down there, twitching and fidgeting for news." Jim laughed at the young man who'd spoken. His First Mate, Thomas. They'd graduated from the Academy together, and planned to take that solo voyage together as 'd become best friends in their time at the Academy. It was the same as his friendship with Silver. Silver had been more the father he'd never had. But they were close and had each others backs.

"Tell him he can get his panties out of a twist, we'll be there before midday. And you can also tell him to get his crap off my ship too." Thomas laughed and lugged himself back down to the deck below.

Jim urged the ship forward faster. He was itching to get on his glider and away from Herms for a bit. Or maybe it was just the itch to be a bit reckless. It was hours before something on the horizon finally caught Jim's eye. At first he thought it was a mountain because of it's size but the closer the ship sailed, the clearer it became. It was a castle.

All white washed stone, gold sand and glittering water. This surprised him, it was unlike anything Jim had ever seen. The only sign that the castle hadn't arisen out of the sea itself was it's reddish-orange roofs. Even the windows looked like sea glass, with their smooth and colored contours. It was the most excitement he'd had in days. But even his amazement fizzled out quickly with the arrival of Herms on deck. He wanted to groan but resisted the urge.

"Captain Hawkins." The blonde man inquired almost imperiously.

"Yes?"

"When we arrive, me and my men will be staying within the castle with the King's family. He's asked that you and your first mate dine with us at dinner, the rest of your crew however I must ask to stay aboard the ship."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Jim said absentmindedly. He waited until Mr. Herms had gone before calling for all hands on deck. "Prepare to dock!" Jim yelled. He pulled Thomas to steer the helm while he went to the deck and inspected the men, all the while assisting here and there. The moment the ship docked Jim glanced at the party awaiting their arrival. Various amounts of kindly faced servants littered the golden sands. Behind them, on higher ground he could only assume were the King and Queen.

They didn't look anything like he'd expected. The King was relatively young, a strapping man with dark black hair and an easy demeanor. His wife was young as well, beautiful to say the least. Bright red hair tied to the side, so that their waves hung over her shoulder. He modest green dress swaying in the breeze. There was something about her that made Jim curious. He couldn't pin exactly what it was, but something about her didn't really fit. In the languid way she moved, as if she were water.

"Thomas, great them in my stead. Tell them I'll be about for dinner but now I have business to attend to." Thomas nodded curtly before moving quickly to follow Herms and and his men.

Jim turned away from the couple, not noticing the young woman who stood off to the side, nearly hidden by her father's tall stature. Ebony dark hair, pulled into an ugly braid that hung down her back. Her hands fidgeted with her pale blue skirt, she wanted nothing more than to take down the hideous braid and be anywhere but greeting family guests. She glanced longingly at the sea. As the newcomers became acquainted she silently devised a plan to slip away.

Her gaze fell to the ship they'd arrived in. Her father had warned her that they might seem different. She might see things she didn't expect. But she'd insisted that after finding out the truth about her mother, and essentially herself, not much was surprising. The ship was strange to her, in the way it's sails glittered in the high sunlight. But it didn't frighten her as she'd been warned it might. It made her curious. Finally Mr. Herms stood in front of her, her father introducing her as politely as possible.

Mr. Herms grasped her hand and bowed to kiss it. She shuddered at the brush of his lips and the way they lingered a fraction of a second too long. When she caught his eyes looking her up and down, she pulled her hand from his. Turning to her parents she said in faint little voice, "Mother, Father, I'm not feeling very well. May I retire to my rooms?"

Her father looked worriedly at her and nodded. Her mother however held a knowing look before nodding as well. "Just be sure to be back for dinner." She said quietly, an almost undetectable smirk gracing her lips.

She nodded obediently to her mother and was silently thankful for this new found relationship between them. More trust than anything. She turned and headed meekly toward the castle. Waiting until her parents and their new guests had turned the corner, she tore off in the other direction. Straight for the shoreline. As she sprinted she tore the ribbon from her hair and shook out the braid. She kicked of her shoes and the heavy dark coat behind her, they landed like crumbs marking where she'd been.

The water kicked up into the air as she kept running, and sprinkled like tiny diamonds in the sunlight. Diving forward she swam out until her feet no longer reached the bottom. She reveled in the feeling of the water, the way it wrapped her up like a blanket of freedom and carried her away from her practical little world.

Mid-dive she glanced the ship again, it's strangely gleaming sails and almost metallic exterior, intrigued she swam toward it. As if reading her thoughts a baby dolphin waited below the surface. She pointed to herself and then to the strange ship before grasping it's fin. The animal couldn't have been more than a baby, but he moved faster than she could have ever swam. They reached the boat in mere seconds, she waved good-bye to the dolphin who swam away happily.

Pushing her hair back she took a closer look at the ship. Her eyebrows crinkled at the sight, there wasn't an inch of wood making up this ship. She let her fingers graze over it's slick side, cold metal. It seemed to thrum beneath her fingers like a quickened heartbeat. _Where did it come from? _it was all she could think about and she swam around the bow.


	3. Chapter 3

Jim sat at the front of the ship on the bowsprit. The compass tumbled in his hands, he absentmindedly turned the dial, each time a holographic scenery came up. Worlds he longed to see and a sky he was itching to fly through. He was distracted from his daydreaming when he heard a quiet splashing below. He slowly drew the knife from his boot, expecting to find pirates or someone unfriendly.

The moment he looked down, a figure slinked back into the water. From above he squinted and could only make out blurred colors of black and white. Resigned to protect his ship, Jim eased himself off the bowsprit. He threw off his jacket behind him before leaping into the water. Holding his breath he blinked his eyes in the direction of the would-be-intruder. She floated above him, so angelic that for a moment he thought he might have killed himself by accident. She wore white under clothes and her hair floated around her shoulders in silky black ribbons.

They stared after one another, both seeming to marvel at the other. Jim reached his hand out to her, but she caught sight of his hand and quickly swam away to the surface. Jim looked at his hand and saw the knife he forgot he'd been holding. He sighed, bubbles slipping from his mouth, and tucked the knife into his boot. Jim kicked toward the rippled sky above him, they reached the surface at the same time, gasping for air. She attempted to swim away again but Jim caught her arm, she struggled and tried to slap him.

Catching both her wrists in his Jim tried to calm her down. "Hey.. hey, stop fighting me! I won't hurt you!" She stopped and Jim loosened his grip. He gazed at her cold blue eyes, the odd curve of her mouth and messy hair. She didn't look like a thief, but he was also pretty sure that she wasn't an angel either. "What's your name?"

She glared at him, yanking her hands out of his grasp. "Melody." She said without looking at him and rubbing her wrists.

"Doesn't suit you." He commented dryly. If anything, her glare became venomous at his words and made to swim away again. "What were you doing here?" He called after her, not being able to help the laughter at her obvious anger.

"What problem is it of yours?" She said, still swimming away although in less of a hurry.

"It's my ship." He said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. She turned, her eyebrow quirked in a mixture of curiosity and surprise. She stilled in the water, looking at Jim cautiously before asking, "Aren't you a little young to be a captain?"

"Aren't you a little too female to be swimming around unaccompanied? Especially in that." He gestured to her soaked clothes. She resisted the urge to cover herself up and give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd struck a chord.

"I don't entertain company that can't keep up." Her voice held a challenge that brought a glint of mischief to eyes.

"I caught you didn't I?" He countered.

"I was distracted." She said confidently and truthfully.

"I'll bet you were." She caught the double meaning as he turned his back to her, heading for the rope ladder hanging off the side of the ship.

Melody was torn for a moment. Between her annoyance at his conceit and her intrigue for him. "What makes the sails glitter like that?" She asked suddenly. He turned to look at her, a confused expression on his defined features. She gestured to the tied sails, occasionally glinting when the breeze swayed them. He continued to stare at her, not answering her question. Melody felt the moment become awkward, biting her lip she made to leave again when his voice stopped her.

"Come and see." Melody spun to face him and he jerked his head in the direction of the ship before heading for the ladder again. Without thinking Melody followed him. She didn't understand this almost blind faith she had for this stranger. She knew she should be weary, he did have a knife and he already proved how easy it was for him to overpower her. It frightened her, how willing she was. But it didn't stop her from accepting his hand when they reached the top of the ladder.

Jim grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over the railing before settling her feet back on the deck. She tried to push down the butterflies at the very feel of his touch. She reached up and combed her fingers through her hair, wringing the water onto the deck, if only to have something to do with her hands. Looking around it herself, she realized it could have passed for any other ordinary ship. The only odd pieces were the sails and metal exterior.

"Electricity, it powers the ship." His voice came from behind her, she turned to see him already halfway toward the bow, she jogged a little to keep up with him.

"Why is it made from metal?"

He grabbed his jacket off the ground, dusting it off before tossing it to her. It's heavy weight almost threw her off balance but she didn't let it show as she tugged it on. "Thank you." Her voice was so quiet he wasn't sure she'd said it at all.

"Metal is better for galactic conditions."

"Galactic?" She repeated obviously confused.

He chuckled and said, "Yeah, you know.. up there." He pointed a finger precariously skyward before slumping against the railing behind him.

She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. "Either you're lying." She said, still looking upward. "Or you're crazy."

"Not even a little." He seemed unperturbed at her astonishment, he'd expected it from the rumors he'd heard.

_Was it so impossible to believe? _She thought. After all that she'd seen, from her mother's life before she'd met Melody's father. Shouldn't she be the last person to be so skeptical? She ran her fingers over the seams of the leather jacket absentmindedly, before turning back to the strange man. "What's your name?"

"Jim... Jim Hawkins."

"This ship... it can fly?"

"Yes." He said seriously. A laugh bubbled up melodically past her lips and for a moment he was entranced by the sound.

"That's wonderful." She said, her voice a little amazed. "Can you... A-are you... um..." Her voice trailed off, unsure how to ask.

"Am I what?" His voice almost daring her to ask.

"Are you human?"

He laughed, mocking her in doing so. "No, I'm a fish. Thus the irony of my flying ship." He kept laughing and looking at her a little incredulously.

"If you knew this world like you knew your own, you wouldn't think it such a ridiculous question." She mumbled, entranced at the way the red and yellow hues of sunset caught in his hair and warmed her skin. _Oh, sunset_. "I should be going." Melody quickly began to walk away toward the railing, shrugging off the jacket as she went.

"Go where?" He asked as he walked after her.

"Home." A small catch in her voice as she pushed the jacket into his outstretched hands. Melody gathered her skirts and stepped over the side of the railing. Jim quickly grabbed her arm, realizing she intended to jump back into the water.

"Wait!" Her gaze snapped up to meet his, the piercing feeling of her gaze had him looking away like a shy teenager. "He swallowed the lump in his throat and said, "Let me take you."

"Oh, I don't live far." She pointed to the castle without thinking.

"You work there?" He asked not surprised by her possibly being a servant but that she was staying in the castle. Melody stopped trying to get away for moment and thought about what he'd said. Deciding to air on the side of caution she nodded.

"Mhmm. I live there." She squeaked, she suddenly wanted to slap herself. He had to know she was lying- or at least hiding something. _Could she be more valuable to him if he knew she were a princess? _Melody didn't want to take her chances. "Well, bye." She said before he could try to stop her again. She leaped into the water like she did it all the time, in fact she did. Jim watched as she swam away toward the shore, she was back in minutes. Jim understood now when she said she could have gotten away. She swam fast, and Jim honestly believed he may not have been able to catch her if she had been on her guard. Though he would never admit that to her.

He watched as she picked up what he could only assume were her clothes off the beach. He watched her until he couldn't see her anymore, having disappeared behind a garden wall.

"What are you staring at?" Jim turned to see Thomas standing behind him, harboring a look of interest.

"Nothing." Jim replied dismissively.

"Well, when your done staring at 'nothing', I suggest you go get dressed for dinner." Jim groaned and tore his gaze from the spot where she'd disappeared. He really wasn't interested in doing any entertaining. But he couldn't help the quiet curiosity that seemed to be pressing him to go, if only to meet the strange girl again. Something about her was making him achingly curious, she was hiding something he could tell. He felt like slapping himself for caring, but if Jim were being honest with himself- he'd admit that he'd never been able to let a secret go undiscovered.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I have not abandoned this fic! Just so yo all know, in case you were wondering :) I've just been insanely distracted by school and my other fic 'Skin', which is really taking off if I do say so myself. If your a GH romantic, feel free to check it out. Now, on with the show!

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If any truths can be said of him, let one never forget that patience was his greatest virtue. And a complete disregard for deadlines was his downfall. Two sides of the same unfortunate coin. Jim purposely tugged on a simple black shirt lazily over his brown breeches, laughing when there was yet another set of rapturous knocks on his door.

"I **will** leave without you!" Thomas called threatening from the other side of the door.

"Fine then I'll leave without you, you like earth so much why don't you stay here a few months. Test the medieval waters why don't you..." Jim is only joking but he can almost feel Thomas pouting through the silence and the door. They didn't need to fight though, for moments later Jim swung open his door, ready to leave.

"You're worse than a woman, you know that?" Thomas comments seriously with a glare to match.

"Now look who's making us late." Jim asks as he breezes past Thomas and heads for the deck. "Bringing up old arguments after I know you've forgiven me."

Thomas pauses until he can't even see the hide of Jim's boots from the bottom step, "I need a vacation." He whispers half-heartedly.

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"Welcome to my home and my land." Its a little over the top, but he's a ruler and it's what's expected of him.

The King is gracious and hospitable as he greets both Jim and Thomas, the former for the first time. Jim takes immediate notice of the grand marble halls, and sturdy wooden furniture, the silver fixtures... The ceiling above was painted with the most luxurious hues and the carpet bellow was woven of the most intricate patterns. Even the pristine white dining jacket on King Eric's back... It would all fetch a hefty price on his home planet, Jim couldn't help but notice.

"Thank you, your majesty. Will it just be the men tonight?" Jim asks as if it's only something to say.

In truth he'd heard the men talking before, the way they practically fawned over the queen for her beauty. He was curious, and for the most part unashamed of it. Sure, he'd seen her before when Mr. Herms first greeted them. But it was a distant view, and he'd only made out the most basic of features.

Besides, he knew he'd run into Melody eventually during his stay, for it would be a long one even if things went according to Mr. Herms' plans. She'd be wonderful distraction until he had to leave. And she'd be great for giving Thomas a break by allowing Jim to sink his teasing claws into someone else for awhile.

"You may call me Eric, formalities tend to be more of nuisance than necessity here. And no, my wife and daughter will be down to greet everyone soon." Eric answers with a knowing smile, as if he can read Jim's curious mind. But maybe Jim's just being paranoid...

It isn't long before they reach the drawing room. Thick lush green curtains hang from the mountainous windows and two large cream colored couches sit across from one another in the center of the room. The area is neatly lit with tall thick candles, the smell of a warm salty breeze wafts around their nostrils. The only thing marring the elegance of the scene was the presence of Mr. Herms sitting pompously on the far end of one the cream colored couches, and a wormy looking little man standing at the ready no more than a few inches away.

Jim recalled the man following Herms around the ship like a pup the whole trip, always doing everything Herms asked to pure perfection. In all honesty the man had no spine, and Jim sincerely pitied and admired him for putting up with Herms and his every ridiculous demand. Among them was a third man, older with grey and white hair, who appeared as though he were on the verge of death by boredom. Their arrival was his mercy.

Not long after had Jim contemplated the man than the King introduced him. "This is my dear friend Grimsby. Grim, this is Captain Jim Hawkins and his first mate Thomas Bradley."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Grimsby stretches his papery-skinned hand out to Jim first, his every airy move speaking of years spent around nobility. Jim takes his hand as he examines the genuine but worn smile on the older man's face.

"Same here." Jim says, somehow clarifying the polar opposites between them. He steps aside to allow Grimsby and Thomas to become acquainted. At that moment his eyes glance to the doorway, catching his first real glimpse of the Queen emerging from the shadows. He thought he'd seen enough before when they'd arrived, he'd been wrong. She was as beautiful as they said if not more so than any other who woman who had ever lived. Her hair and lips were the shade of rubies, eyes the color of sapphires. Her figure was strong and generously built, like that of a goddess. She walked gracefully, the one thing he hadn't been wrong about, she moved like water.

Jim was so distracted by this magnificent beauty he didn't notice the girl walking cautiously behind.

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She begged her mother to let her skip this social dinner just once. Melody tried to convince her she was sick, but Ariel had done all the same tricks before to get out of doing something concerning family business- and gotten into twice as much trouble. Ariel really did empathize with Melody, but sometimes it was just non-negotiable. Melody had already skipped out on the first meeting with the men, she was expected to at least entertain at dinner.

Sometimes Melody really couldn't believe her luck. First running into Jim in the first place, when she snuck away as they first arrived. And then falling for him almost instantaneously that it seemed ridiculous. If she'd simply gone then, her mother might have allowed her to skip dinner. She could have avoided Jim altogether. She hated his arrogance, when he talked to her it was like he was reading into her mind. When he looked at her she felt exposed. Yes, some small part of her really loved all that. Was intrigued and drawn in by it, by him and the challenge he presented in comparison to every prancing daisy prince she'd ever met or been courted by. But the more logical part of her brain knew... Knew that nothing could come of it.

She lived a secret life she wasn't sure she could ever share with him, or anyone but her family and the other merpeople. He was from a distant galaxy, eventually he'd leave for that place in the sky again. Either way he'd break her heart, whether he accepted her or rejected her. So it was best that she just stay clear of him altogether.

Unfortunately as she and her mother entered the drawing room, she figured that probably wasn't going to happen. There stood Jim, next to Grimsby and the other captain she'd briefly greeted that morning, Thomas. She watched as all eyes fell to them as they entered the room. Her eyes watched Jim intently, he was staring with transfixed eyes in their direction. But her heart fell a little when she realized the awe on his face was directed at her young and beautiful mother. Melody took a sidelong glance at her reflection in an enormous mirror hanging on the far off wall and frowned.

Her eyes were an indiscernible shade of blue, nothing as clear or glittering as Ariel's. Her jet black hair she'd allowed to be pinned back was nothing as remarkable as Ariel's vibrant red. Her frame was lithe, whereas he mother was tall and almost amazonian. Ariel's skin was fair and delicate, while Melody had a golden hue from the days she spent under the sun. They were two different kinds of beauties, but Melody could never help feeling completely inferior when her mother was around. Indeed the desire in Jim's eyes proved that. Melody smoothed the sky blue fabric of her dress, one of the few she owned that she liked- it had a lower more mature neckline that dashed any doubts that she was a woman and not a child, and stepped out from the shadows without fear.

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Jim was so distracted by Ariel, that he almost didn't hear the King speaking to them. Indeed his ears only honed in on a single word, or name as it were. "May I introduce my wife, Ariel. And our daughter Melody."

Jim's eyes immediately snapped to the figure behind the Queen.

There she stood in all her glory, as though nothing were out of place. A small flint of anger had him glaring at her and raising an eyebrow in silent questioning. She eyed him defiantly and curtseyed. "Captain Hawkins." He bowed appropriately before watching her greet the others. He wanted more than anything to pull her aside, ask her why she lied to him. In truth, Jim had come tonight with the pure intention of seducing the girl and leaving a string of broken hearts in his stead like any roguish sailor. But her father was the King of this land, and truthfully Jim really liked the man. Eric stood no more than a few feet away. Eyeing his daughter with pride.

"Your Majesties, dinner is ready." A plump short woman announced before Jim could think of a second option. They were all lead accordingly into the dining room. Jim was about to secure the chair beside Melody when Mr. Herms' assistant practically ran in front of him and pulled out the chair for Mr. Herms. Jim decided then that he no longer pitied the man, he sincerely despised them both.

Jim walked casually to the other side of the table, opposite Mr. Herms and beside Thomas who'd graciously secured a seat for him. "That was smooth." Thomas chuckled under his breath.

"How was I supposed to know that he'd go low enough to send his lackey in?" Jim whispered back.

"You sailed him here didn't you?" Jim didn't respond, he just fixed his glare on Thomas and the smirk now plastered to his face. At least Melody hadn't seen the exchange as it happened behind her back. He hated it when anyone or anything caught him off guard, it lead to people doubting him and just tended to cause a slew of unnecessary problems in his life.

Dinner conversation was light, for everyone else at least. Eric talked to Thomas pretty avidly, Jim joining in every now and then. He was too distracted by the pair across the table. Mr. Herms was talking avidly to Melody, who laughed occasionally and smiled the entire time. It grated on his nerves, for reasons he couldn't explain. He just knew he didn't like it.

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Melody didn't look at him once. She didn't have to, she could feel his gaze practically burning into her. But she kept herself focused on Mr. Herms who seemed intent on impressing her. She laughed at all the right points and made sure she appeared to be enjoying herself. It couldn't have been further from the truth, Mr. Herms was arrogant. Even more than Jim, only he didn't have the humor to make up for it. Dinner seemed to drag on for ages in her mind, before they retired to the drawing room once more.

Mr. Herms's assistant pulled out the chair for her and Mr. Herms offered her his arm. She took it cautiously, anxious more than anything for the night to be over. She chanced a glance at Jim, who was openly staring at her. His jaw set firm and his eyes dissecting her every move. Melody looked away quickly, tuning back into the conversation around her.

Jim excused himself early, and Melody was a little disappointed. She hadn't gotten a chance to say one word to Jim the entire evening. A big part of her was drawn to him and she wanted desperately to talk to him again. But the more practical part of her mind reminded her of what Sebastian would say, were he aware of the situation, for her to leave it alone and stay away if she knew what was good for her.

Eventually everyone left, Mr. Herms placed a kiss on her hand and she had to resist the urge to wipe it off on her dress.

"I can't believe you made me go." She says to her mother once everyone has gone.

"I thought they were rather nice. Mr. Herms seems quite fond of you." Her mother says encouragingly.

"He's much too old for her." Eric says indignantly, at that moment Melody smiles thankfully at her father for understanding. Nothing more is said on the subject. They each press a kiss to Melody's hair before she retires for the night.

As she makes her way up the stairs, she begins to carefully pull the pins from her hair. Each time one is removed, she can feel a little bit tension ease away from her- preparing for sleep. By the time she reaches her bedroom, her hands are full of hair pins and jewelry she wore that night. Closing the door behind her she releases the contents of her hands onto her vanity.

In the darkness she is unaware that anything is amiss, she doesn't even suspect it.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I've had finals and just basically many things on my plate until now. Thanks for the reviews, especially OMGitsEMILY. You've been my driving force for this fic and I'm very grateful for your reviews; they make my day :-) Sorry about playing hide and seek with this story, I didn't know a rating change would do that. Also, this fic I've decided will be a little racy from here on in. I'm using this story to explore my writing talents in that particular area, thanks again for reading and reviewing. Hope everyone enjoys!

-ace

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"Pretty decadent for a maids quarters..." Jim comments dryly from his spot by the window.

That should have been her first clue.

Her window was closed. She always left it open, even when it rained. If she couldn't live as a mermaid like she wanted, she settled for breathing it in every moment of the day and having the ocean be the first thing she sees every morning. He must have closed it after he snuck in, thinking he was being careful or discreet.

But then again she hadn't noticed it immediately...

It was hard to detect the fool in the current situation.

But it doesn't matter now. What matters is that_ Jim_ is in_ her _room, she was about two seconds from jumping out of her dinner dress... and she's strangely unafraid. She probably should be. She's never let a man in her room before, and Jim had just broken in. Okay maybe _breaking in _is the wrong choice of words, the point is that she didn't ask him to come in. He just barged in because he thought he could.

Mentally resigned, she pulls a box of matches from her vanity and goes about lighting the lamps in her room, as though nothing is wrong or out of the ordinary. Like his presence is completely conventional. "I don't see how that concerns you." She says in a dry sort of tone, as if she's bored by his remark rather than taken aback like he had obviously hoped.

Melody steals a peak at him from the corner of her vision as he shrugs himself off the wall, mulling over the truth in her statement as he wanders around her room. He walks over to her vanity, fingers dancing across its surface, examining and critiquing. It doesn't bother her, but his very presence in her room is sending secret butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Not that she'd ever admit it, or even let it show.

"You lied to me, why?" He asks like he's the one in charge, it strikes a small flint of anger inside her chest. But it disappears almost as quickly as it came. Panic takes its place when his hand eases her golden locket off the mirror. He tumbles it around in his hands, and she's praying to God that he doesn't feel inclined to open it.

She needs to distract him, so she settles for the truth. Maybe it will peak his curiosity more than the locket, he seemed the type who would be. "I didn't trust you."

Jim's gaze snaps to her and he arches an eyebrow, his mouth open in offense and light astonishment. "_You _didn't trust _me_?" He wants to laugh at the notion, but Jim resists the urge. He pushes the locket back onto the wooden surface, forgotten just as she'd hoped. "I never lied to you. _You've _been lying since the moment we met apparently." He doesn't speak like he's offended, more like he undoubtedly believes he is right.

"We only met a few hours ago. And **you** broke into my private chambers." She points out, as though it were the most obvious and important fact of their argument.

"Your window was open." For him, that had been invitation enough.

"If someone doesn't use the door, they are more than likely nefarious than honorable."

"I never claimed to be honorable." His frown is back, like she's struck some kind of chord.

Jim always thought of himself as being a good man, generally speaking. Better than his father at least. His father was not an honorable man... He never wanted to be like his father.

Suddenly a glint of light steals her gaze. He eyes fall to a dark metal contraption leaning against the wall. "How did you get in here without anyone seeing you?" Her gaze never leaving the object, so she doesn't see the mischievous grin spreading across Jim's face.

She'd asked the perfect question.

"I think you can guess." Their gazes meet again, the same challenge mirrored in the others eyes. She's daring him to show her. He's daring her to ask. Though Melody is at a disadvantage, as Jim is the one with a plan, he gives in first. She watches as he moves confidently over to the strange metallic board, in a split second he's snatched it from it's position against the wall and he's running out onto her balcony.

For Melody it happens in slow motion. She can feel the scream caught in her throat as he leaps off the ledge, icy fingers clenching around her vocal chords. As if he'd done it a hundred time before. Her hand clasps to her chest, as though she were trying to keep her heart from leaping out from behind her ribs to follow him.

It only takes moment though, and a dull grinding sound, before he's floating just above her balcony again. Her eyes are wide, marveling at the board beneath his feet- two short tails of glowing fire behind it, Jim gasping a bar on a large glittering sail- and about 20 feet of air between them and the ground. Jim watches arrogantly as she breathes out the breathe she didn't realize she'd been holding. He feels the tiniest string of guilt at her pale face and wide eyes.

"You alright?" He asks, not sure if he should regret scarring her.

"Are you?!" She yells back.

Melody cringes at her own volume. She quickly looks behind her cautiously. Ready to answer to any curious person that may come through her door. She waits a few moments, satisfied when the door remains still she turns back to face Jim- who is still hovering in mid air. His smile is as arrogant as ever. "How are you doing that?" She finally asks, more quiet and a little amazed.

"It really wouldn't make sense unless you understood mechanics." Jim holds out his hand to her. "But I can show you..."

His invitation unnerves her more than when he jumped off her terrace. She knows she has these instincts for a reason. She knows if she speaks right now her voice won't work. Everything in her body is screaming at her to be weary... But none of it can stop her from slowly putting her palm to his. His hand curls firmly around hers just before he pulls her toward him. "Climb up..." He says as he lowers the board closer to the ground so she can do just that.

Melody sets one foot on the front of the board, fisting her free hand in the collar of his thick jacket, she pulls herself up so that she's standing just behind him. "Now come around so we're both facing each other." He says and this time she looks at him suspiciously.

"You're not trying to seduce me are you?" She asks it as a joke, but a small part can't help but hope that he is. Jim laughs at her question, his gruff laugh vibrating through her.

"Just do it." He says still smiling. She a allows herself a smile before maneuvering herself around him, her feet settled between his and their fronts pressed together. It's suddenly tense as she feels his warm breath on her face, his strong arms practically encircling her as he grips the flat handle attached to the sail behind her. Melody can feel the blush rising in her cheeks and immediately looks down, her curtain of hair hiding her face from his view. She's never stood this close to any man, not even during a dance.

"Now what?" She asks, trying to pretend again that she's unamazed by him, but she's unable to keep the tiniest quaver out of her voice...

He laughs again, seeing through her facade. Jim uses one of his hands to pull one of her own inside his jacket, hooking it around his belt like an anchor. He jerks his chin, and she lets her other hand hesitantly follow suit on his other side. "Now, now you hold on for dear life..."

Jim stomps his foot and suddenly the board is wrenching forward and up. Cutting through the cool night sky. Instinctively Melody yanks him close, her hands fisting tight around his belt. "I was kidding," He says with a crow of laughter "but this is nice." And they rocket into the sky like shooting stars.

"Just shut up!" She retorts, her voice an unthreatening squeak, and clasps her arms tighter around him. Jim can't help himself, he kicks the paddle again, increasing their speed. They go soaring even faster over the ocean, a mass glittering ink-black waves. She looks up slowly. Jim's dark brown hair is whipping around his smiling face and stars streak across the background, the pure moonlight illuminating him like an angel.

She's so distracted by his handsome features she doesn't realize they've slowed down, the castle a mere pebble in the distance.

"So, your a princess..." It's hard to wrap his mouth around the words, it changed his plans drastically. If he were thinking straight, he wouldn't even be here... with her. His gaze falls to Melody, and she looks away immediately. She wants to smack herself, she's acting like a child with a crush.

"And?" Melody isn't sure where he's going with this so she tries to help him along.

"It's just hard to process, weren't you the one swimming in your undergarments this afternoon?" His teasing is rewarded by her offended expression.

"These are private waters, any other day it wouldn't have been a big deal." She loosens her grip considerably as they glide lazily over the waters.

"Now it makes sense." She smacks her hand playfully across his chest, causing his smile to widen genuinely.

"Your irritating me on purpose." She tries to hide her own grin, biting the inside of her cheek to keep her expression in check... and failing miserably as he admires her smile.

"Was it that obvious?" He asks sarcastically, and so she doesn't respond. Suddenly his warm hand is behind her neck, pulling her to him until his mouth is on hers. Tasting and breathing her in. She's caught off guard and he mistakes her gasp of surprise for entrance. Melody's mind goes blank as he kisses her, his mouth devouring hers in an all-consuming sort of way.

She's only been kiss twice, neither was ever like this.

A cord of irresistible heat strikes through her every limb, caressing her nerves and making her clutch her hands into his belt. Holding onto him like a life-line, as if she might fall away or float into the sky at any moment. His kiss had the same effect of the glider speeding through mid air, terrifying and exhilarating and intense all rolled into a single breath of feeling.

As quickly as she responds, she pulls away and hears Jim's light groan of annoyance.

"You are trying to seduce me..." She whispers, trying to catch her breath. Her eyes are still closed, not confident she can look at him yet without reaching out for more.

"No," He leans in again, hovering just above her lips. "Not at all..." And his mouth is on hers again. He's like the moon and she's the ocean, when he leans in she rises to meet him, aching to be closer with every passing second. She's never kissed anyone like this before, and it's a little obvious to him. She's shy and so he guides her, drawing her in deeper. She follows languidly, causing it feels so wonderful and she doesn't care that she can hardly breath...

She doesn't know how long they kiss, or how long they've been gone. All she can think about is what this implies... for both of them.

"You'll leave soon..." She says between a kiss, his lips moving lazily over her jaw.

"Yes?" It comes out more like a question than a confirmation. She raises her hands to either side of his face, pulling him up to look her in the eye.

"It doesn't go any further than this. _This_ can't mean anything..." Melody's eyes are serious as she tries to make him understand. She knows that if anyone is going to walk away from this scar-free, it's going to be him. She has things to live up to, she has duties and promises to keep. She's really just trying to protect herself, cover all her bases.

He simply laughs before leaning in again. "Yeah, sure..." And like that it's forgotten as they meld together, their mouths seeking reprieve in each other.

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A/N: Good? Yes? No? I'm working on it! :]


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I feel the need to explain yet again that I understand how anxious you can get once you find a story you like but it's a work in progress. I've been there, I get it. But I'm also a writer, a reader, a college student, an artist and the responsible daughter taking care of two sisters with the caring capacity of a two year old [combined]. I just don't have a lot of time on my hands to write, revise [to the extent that will keep you guys coming back] and post more than once or twice a week. And don't even get me started on writer's block, cause that's a whole other dimension of hell no one wants to get into. I hope you understand that I am kindly informing you of the difficulty and apologizing for something that I can't really change. I update when I can, and I sincerely respect those of you who even bother reading. Thank you and enjoy, and please take nothing in offense- I only mean well.

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When she wakes the next morning, she can still feel the heated press of his lips against her own. Even the feel of his body pressing closer to hers still has yet to fade from her memories, invading her dreams. Her eyes snap open and she clutches to the sheets of her bed. The bright gold and deep purple of her ceiling instead of a blanket of stars, the hot sheets of her bed instead of cool night air, it all crashes into her senses like the ocean during a storm.

_What are you doing? _Her subconscious poses the question as though it were an entity all it's own.

"I don't know..." She groans back aloud, grabbing a pillow and pushing it over her own face. Her head knows where this is all heading, but she can't help it. What was so wrong with living recklessly before she eventually couldn't anymore? Trading in her happiness for a crown and a husband she didn't want... for duty.

Melody rips away the pillow, tossing it to the edge of her large four poster bed and simultaneously kicking the sheets down below her toes. She arches her back, reaching her arms to the head board in an attempt to loosen her muscles before waking up completely.

"Mistress, you're awake." Her maid calls happily, and Melody offers an encouraging smile despite her bleary eyes and suddenly sullen demeanor. "I'l have your bath drawn in a moment."

"Thank you Alice." Melody says just before the older woman departs as quickly as she arrived. Once Alice is gone, Melody quickly leaps out of her bed and runs over to her wardrobe. Pulling open the door, she gazes into the inlaid mirror at her reflection. She combs her fingers through her hair until it's no longer a mass of black curls and tangles. Under her eyes are the faintest circles from lack of sleep.

When Jim had finally brought her back it had been on the heels of dawn, and even now the sun sat fairly high in the sky. It must be nearly noon. Melody had always been an early riser, she never slept in so late. This revelation explained the relief on Alice's face, the older woman had probably thought Melody to be ill.

Melody mentally shook herself, forcing her mind to clear the cobwebs and focus. As servants began bustling in and out of her room, bringing in a large wood basin and filling it with heated water. Melody barely minded them, only saying thank you here and there with a encourage nod of her head. She focused on the garments hanging in her wardrobe, reaching to the back she pulled out a white blouse and corset, and a pale green skirt; much like the summer outfits her mother used to wear.

She set them delicately across the bed as Alice entered. Melody stepped behind a screen in the corner, and began disrobing as Alice grabbed her undergarments from a bottom drawer. She laid them side by side with the outfit, and turned to Melody's hidden figure behind the screen. "Anything else mistress?" Alice asked as Melody grabbed her robe hanging of the corner of the screen.

"No thank you. That will be all." Melody answered back. She waited until she heard the door close definitively. Tightening the tie around her waist Melody cautiously crept toward her bed. Her hand clawed around the corner of the rose colored silk corset, haphazardly she ripped up the skirt of her bed and lifted the corset. Ready to deposit it secretly...

When her door snapped open a crack, and Alice's beady little eyes peered though it. Catching Melody in the act, her eyes dared Melody to continue. Melody glared right back, after a moment she released the corset from her clutches with a soft thump back onto the bed. Alice had already closed the door, calling through the thick wood, "I'll back to help you dress mistress."

Melody turned her venomous glare onto the offending garment. "I hate you." She said to it before walking over to the bath sitting just before the window, close enough for her to enjoy the view while she bathed and far back enough to give her privacy from the occasional passerby.

A quick glance behind her to make sure the door was closed, Melody pulled the knot of her blue silk robe, allowing it to pull at her feet before stepping into the warm water. As she sunk in, dipping her head quickly beneath the surface, she allowed the water to seep every ounce of tension from her body until she felt like water herself.

As she edged her fingers through her hair, an object on the shoreline caught her vision suddenly. The ship, Jim's ship... Could he-? Would he-? Melody mentally slapped herself, she was just being paranoid. What we're the chances he'd know this would be the most opportune moment to peer in on her. She knew she was being silly, but she couldn't shake the thought as it entered her mind. She slunk into the water slowly until her nose hovered just above the waters surface, her breath making ripples across it, and her eyes trained on Jim's ship.

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Jim laughed quietly to himself, closing the spyglass and replacing it in his pocket. He hadn't seen anything too risque, he'd caught her after she'd already gotten in the bath. He'd only meant to check if she was awake. He'd been awake for nearly three hours and was anxiously waiting to shed the boring edges off the day and spend it with her.

He wondered if she could actually see him or if she was just that intuitive-

"What are you looking at?"

Jim was startled by Thomas's voice behind him so that he nearly dropped the spyglass over the railing. It fumbled in his hands for a moment before he grasped it firmly and shoved it into his belt. "Just bird watching."

Thomas laughs in response, trying to figure out where Jim's spyglass had been aimed. "Since when does something so mundane strike your fancy?"

"Boredom." Says Jim in a clipped tone as he sees Thomas' gaze land on the castle. "It's driven me mad."

"Or maybe a certain royal has the claim to the feat?" Jim was about to argue when Thomas cut him off with an unexpected conclusion. "Spying on the queen Jimmy? Not very noble, now is it." Jim watches as Thomas is nearly brimming with uncontrollable glee at his friends daring- and ridiculous- escapade. It seems like the safer conclusion, Jim would rather Thomas not know about Melody as it could cause more trouble for him than necessary. _Besides, there's nothing to tell. She said it herself, this means nothing to either of them. _Jim mentally reasons with himself before falsely confirming Thomas' assumption with a trademark mischievous smirk.

Jim pushes himself away from the railing, preparing to head to shore. "Never chase a married woman, especially a queen." Thomas calls to Jim, straining to stifle his laughter.

"Who says I'm chasing her?"

He watches as Thomas strides over to him, clapping a hand to Jim's shoulder. "He is a generous King, but I wouldn't be surprised however far he'll go to protect the woman in his life." Thomas had no idea how close to the mark he actually was. "All I'm saying is be careful."

Thomas' hand falls from Jim's shoulder and back to his side. "I'm always careful." Jim says half-heartedly a knowing grin plastered to his face as he walks off the ship.

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The moment his feet touch the shore, he finds her already walking down the castle steps toward him. She discreetly veers to her right and toward a small valley of sand dunes. He stops, watching her carefully, a purposeful meeting of their gazes instructs him to follow. Jim waits several minutes by the ship, until she's at least forty paces ahead of him. He keeps his gaze moving around him, as though he's enjoying the new scenery.

In truth he's making sure no one is watching him, or her for that matter. Occasionally his eyes scan for the black of her hair, tied in a neat bun exposing the expanse of skin of her neck, or the green of her skirt that matches almost identically the shade of her eyes around the edges. Soon he's hidden in the dunes, weaving his way around them and inching a few paces closer to her to keep up.

He knows their safe, and close when she slows down by a cliff hidden behind the dunes. If Jim stands on the tips of his toes he can see the masts of his ship rocking against the sea and the tips of the towers of the castle in the distance just above the piles of white sand. He turns to see she's disappeared from her stance among the rocks. Curiosity piqued, he jogs vigilantly to he empty spot.

To his surprise there's a hole in the rocks where she had stood. He quickly makes his way down the walls of it, carved by the elements like stairs or the rungs of a ladder. The walls are muddy brown and red, and the ground is no longer powder-like sand but instead thicker and filled with thousands of tiny pebbles of every shape and color. Jim turns in a slow circle, eyes trained on the refracted light from the ocean splaying across the ceiling...

"This is... amazing." He whispers. His eyes fall to her just as she pulls the last ribbon from her hair. So that it cascades in inky rivers down her back.

"It's a cove." She explains delicately, watching as he looks on fascinated. He reaches down grabbing a fistful of pebbles, examining the swirling jeweled patterns of each one like a curious little boy. "There's only a few around the coastline, the is the only one nearest to the castle, and it's almost impossible to reach from the outside."

"So it's no threat, or hideout for invaders." He comments, tossing the pebbles like a small shower. She honestly hadn't thought he'd been paying attention, so she nods silently. "How did you find it?" He asks curiously, walking over to her side and plopping down onto the spot of pebbly ground there.

She follows suit. She isn't as dainty as her mother, he thinks absently. Her skirt is dampened by the moisture on the pebbles, her hands streaked faintly from the mud on the walls. "When I was younger, I was always exploring. It sort of found me..."

"_Was_? You don't anymore?" He doesn't look at her, he keeps his gaze on the light and water outside the tunnel, if anything he's just trying to keep this from getting silent and desperately awkward.

"I suppose I still do, every now and then." She shifts, leaning back on her elbows, daring him to look her in the eye. To openly acknowledge this thing between them, the attraction. "My explorations are just more... mature."

Jim immediately turns to face her, the insinuation clear in her voice and the coy look in her eyes. He doesn't fight the smile that graces his lips, and tosses a pebble into the waves that reach only few inches from his feet. "What exactly will we be exploring today?"

She pretends to ponder the thought, almost tangibly rolling the though around in her head before looking him head on. "Take off your boots." Melody stands and begins removing her outer corset, slowly and purposefully undoing the strings as he watches.

He stands, a grin plastered to his face as he removes his boots. "I must say that's a first as far as flirting goes."

"We're not flirting." She lies, lifting the billowy white blouse over her head until the upper half of her body is covered only by the corset and chemise beneath it. "We're swimming. You can wear less if you like, but I figured swimming with shoes on is pretty difficult." Her smile is as playful as her words. He revels in it for a second as she shimmies her long skirt over her narrow hips.

"Do all girls wear so much here?" Jim asks kicking off his boots and simultaneously pulling his shirt over his head, ruffling his hair a little.

"Most girls wear more." Melody averts her eyes, to shy to stare at him openly. But it was hard not to, every plane of him was heartbreakingly magnificent. The narrowness of his frame, corded with muscles as a result of years spent on a ship. She wonders then what it must have been like for him, spending all that time on a ship. Her father only rarely allowed her aboard a ship until recently. And even then it had been a small sail boat that he refused to skim any further than a few feet from the coast.

"I don't know if I'm more disappointed by that fact or thrilled that it seemingly doesn't apply to you." At that moment he notices the stiff wrap of fabric covering her torso, something foreign to him. Jim walks over to her, reaching out his hand to grasp her side. Feeling the boning in the garment, he thinks a little sadly how its like a cage- holding her heart and soul within her chest. "Can you swim in that?" He asks finally.

It's then that he realizes she's staring up at him with wide expectant eyes, her words tripping over one another, breathless. "S-still worried I'll be a better swimmer than you?" She eases herself out of his grip anxiously and Jim realizes he likes this effect he has on her. Fumbled words, red cheeks and a little fire...

On the downside he was pretty confident she sure as hell wasn't gonna take that ridiculous undergarment off now.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! Sorry about the tiny haitus. And as to Emily, you must be super intuitive or something cause the moment I got your message was about halfway through me working on a third new chapter. A couple weeks ago I had written two chapters but didn't like where the story was going, I'd written myself into a proverbial corner if you will. I didn't feel right posting something I didn't even really like, until low and behold last night the inspiration bunny just attacked me and I couldn't stop writing. The update itself took a little bit longer simply for a few tweaks, hope i got all the grammar faux pas this time!**

**Enjoy!**

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Jim watches as she wades into the water, careful but deliberate. And then, wonderfully unafraid, she leaps below the surface, sending small sprinkles of glistening water into the open air. Her hair becomes blue-black ribbons under the surface- again- like the first time. Her form is elongated slightly below the distorting surface of ripples and salt. Without a second thought, he follows her to the depths.

She swims outward slowly, for her at least, limbs graceful in the water in a way they could never be on the surface. She's slow on purpose, waiting for him as he follows the trail of bubbles her feet make as they flutter quickly through the waves. He has to resurface more often than she does, but he doesn't notice this at first. In the three burning breaths he pulls in, occasionally dragging the salty water past his lips or up his nose, she has only resurfaced once.

Finally she stops in the middle of nowhere it feels. He observes as she strangely swims deeper instead of upward.

Melody poises her feet on a nearby piece of smooth coral, he wants to see what she will do but the burningly compressing feeling is back and he paddles quickly, albeit reluctantly, to the relieving air above. Jim resurfaces quickly, pulling air into his empty lungs and pushing dark brown hair away from his eyes.

At the same moment he brushes the water from his gaze, she comes flying out of water like a beautiful rocket or a fishing trying to fly. It happens in slow motion for him, the silhouetted arch of her body against the noon rays of the sun peeking sporadically through the heavy clouds. Water splashes around her like multicolored jewels as they steal and manipulate the colors from all around- even from her.

She settles back into ocean, like the calm after a storm. Tranquil and serene she peers at him through thick wet lashes as he watches her, only his smile betraying him. It's not sinister or teasing, but purely amazed.

"What?" She asks with a small bout of nervous laughter.

Jim, always needing to have the upper hand doesn't admit what he really thinks. That she's beautiful, and that this... thing they have between them may be more than he was ready to bargain for. So instead he blurts out, "There was seaweed in your hair." He peers down into the shallow water beneath inquisitively as she combs through her hair for any stray piece of seaweed. "So what are we doing here?" He asks feigning boredom.

He sees the sting it leaves, but only for a second before she plunges her hand into the water. It takes a few moments but eventually she pulls back up, something grasped in her loose fist still an inch in the water. She steps closer to him until their almost as close as they were the night he took her out on his glider, the tiny creature cradled carefully between them. He's mildly disappointed that all her attention is focused on the thing in her hand, and not on how close they are. Not like he is. "This is a starfish." She says quietly.

Indeed it's shaped like a star, with spindle-like arms or legs that curl and clench. It's crimson and peach body glistens, tiny dots freckling it's limbs uniformly as it almost dances slowly across her palm. Jim is surprised when Melody grabs his hand suddenly, opening it flat and just under the surface. He's about to protest when she places her palm side by side with his, sending a small shock through his system- barely there.

She keeps her gaze cast down, watching the starfish as it crawls off her hand and onto his. He tries to follow her lead, but his the tension of his muscles makes his hand stiffen and suddenly he can feel the strange creature latch on. Jim begins to panic, he raises his hand to shake it off when she grips his wrist. Melody pushes it back under the water and explains in that soft voice of hers. "You have to be calm, he gets scared when your scared."

He watches her fixedly as she cups her hands around his, stroking her fingers along the back of his hand. Pulling the tension away with every brush. He's entranced and unnerved by the feeling of his hands relaxing, so much that he only knows they're still a part of him because Melody's fingers are still caressing them. And her touch is steadily becoming something he can't ignore. Jim doesn't feel the starfish unlatch itself, or even really see it float away in the water after Melody tips their hands to release it, like a feather or a scrap of paper on a breeze.

When she finally looks at him, he can't stop himself.

Jim reaches for her, his hand curls in her hair and pulls her close until his mouth is devouring hers in a heated kiss. His lips are soft she thinks, in contrast to how hard and angular the rest of him is. She lets her hands roam his back, holding him close but in an innocent sort of way. Jim knows he wants more, that it's against the rules she set, but he'll wait for her to stop him- because he's too far gone now. He can't stop himself...

She's caught off guard when his mouth moves down from her lips, trailing along her jawline. Pressing kisses and his tongue darting out to taste her warm skin. Moving still he drags his lips almost lazily over her neck, leaving a burning trail in his path. She's so blissfully lost in all the feelings he's invoking that she doesn't feel his free hand curl behind her knee. Lifting until her leg is wrapped around his waist.

Suddenly she feels Jim gently bite the part of her neck that's now strangely sensitive like a bruise. But she arches up into him without thinking, her body seeming to have a mind of it's own, and a high whimpering moan tears past her lips. Her breathe quickly increasing, until she's panting against him. She hears him groan and rock his hips into her again, almost following the movement of the waves.

She can't think and out of nowhere she feels a constricting around her torso. A terrifying feeling- like drowning- grips her, ripping her away from the moment. "Jim." She says in a panic. He moans at the sound of his name on her breathless voice until she struggles against him. He quickly releases her, losing all sense of delirium and afraid he'd gone too far but theres a frantic look in her eyes as she gasps "I can't breath." She seems to know whats wrong as she fumbles with the laces at the front of her corset.

A second passes by too slowly and he pushes her hands away. Pulling at the laces as quickly as he can she grasps her small hands against his shoulders, steadying them against the rocking waves as she gasps for breath. Finally Jim rips the last of the ribbons, clawing the corset away from her body. Her torso expands less than an inch but it feels like miles as her lungs expand to full capacity. She sort of collapses against him, basking in the feel of air coursing through her.

"Do me a favor," Jim says, tilting her chin gently up to face him. "Don't ever wear that ridiculous thing again." She's surprised to find that he seems almost as out of breath as she feels. And then it hits her like the most obvious thing in the world, he'd been worried. Very worried, over something so small...

He lifts it above their heads when she doesn't respond immediately, ready to cast it away into the endless sea. "Wait!" She says against her better judgement, snatching it back. "I can't make any promises."

"Why in hell would you want to keep that insane thing?" Jim says with a look that seems to be questioning her sanity. "Your small enough as it is!"

"Apparently not small enough." Melody says quietly with an air of disappointment. "Besides, it's expensive and as much as I hate it I'd feel incredibly guilty just throwing it away."

"And possible suffocation is just a new endurance skill your working on?" She looks up at his face again, still with that questioning look of his.

She decides against seriousness, voting to be playful. She's so sick of being serious and things heading only to grim places. "_You_ just can't kiss me while I'm wearing it." She braces her hands back on his shoulders, lifting herself to his height and pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. Hoping the ego boost will brighten his demeanor.

"And no going swimming in it either..." He says a little hazily, his eyes gazing at her through heavy lids before adding "... just in case." She moves in to press a second kiss in the same manner as before.

"Promise." She whispers back.

Melody pulls away carefully, reaching for his hand they swim back to the cove in silence. She gets there first, though this time he follows a little less behind. They collapse on the pebbles and sand, allowing the warmth from a shaft of evening sun poking through the entrance to dry them.

"Where you're from, what's it like?" She asks after she's dressed again. They lay parallel to one another against the ground, the water still washing just high enough to her feet. Jim falls back after pulling his left boot back on.

Jim blows out a huff of air casually, trying to recall the home he hadn't been to in a long while. "It's not much different from here, except for everything being electrical and aliens. We don't have royalty either..." She peers at him skeptically, not accepting his simple explanation she presses further.

"What about when you were younger, before you became a captain?"

She listens to Jim take a deep breath, his eyes facing the ceiling of the cave but not focusing on anything in particular it seemed. "My dad left when I was kid. He sailed too, but he was kind of deadbeat. Didn't have any business being apart of a family, no less starting one."

"What about your mother?" She questions him carefully, realizing how hard this must be for him.

To her surprise his face becomes less angry, daring even the smallest of smiles- but by far the most real she thinks she's ever seen him give. "Her name's Sarah. She's stubborn, a hard worker. She runs the Benbow Inn." The smile slips a little, and a shadow crosses his features. "I was reckless, worse than my father..."

"I'm sure that's not true." Melody says trying to comfort him, but he cuts her off in persistent sort of tone.

"I was arrested and detained about half a dozen times!" He quiets when his voice echoes off the walls, visibly giving her goosebumps. "I made life miserable for her."

"I wouldn't doubt that she didn't see it that way, Jim. I think she'd love you no matter what..."

There's a long silence as he let's her words comfort him, the conviction that she honestly believes everything she's saying. He wants to believe it too. "As a kid she used to read me the story of Treasure Planet. About the legendary pirate Captain Flint and his ability to appear from nowhere... raid passing ships... and disappear so he could hide the loot on the mysterious Treasure Planet."

"Sounds exciting." She comments, noting that the anger is gone and something else entirely is simmering and glittering beneath the surface.

"When I was sixteen I met him." He revels in the way her wide eyes express pure surprise and excitement as she practically demands he tell her the story. And he does. He tells her everything. About Dilbert and Amelia. About Silver and Morph and B.E.N.. About their journey to Treasure Planet and their daring escape... "After that I went to train at the Academy for a year and a half. I've been roaming around ever since, trying to save enough money for my own journeys..."

She rolled over onto her stomach halfway through his tale, watching him with quieted amazement as he speaks. "Where are they now?" Melody reaches out a hand, her nimble fingers gently brushing aside a lock of hair from his forehead.

"Dilbert and Amelia got married, they've got a couple of kids. I know their on the RLS but I couldn't say where. B.E.N. is with my mother at the inn, he kinda took over my old job and is doing it twice as well from what I hear." She's surprised when Jim reaches for her hand, tracing his fingers over her skin absentmindedly. "I haven't seen Silver since we escaped... but I know he's out there. Living the adventure and all that."

"And Morph? You said Silver left him with you, but I haven't seen this creature you speak of." Her teasing smile invokes one of his own, tilting his lips into curve of their own accord.

"He did, Morph has been with me ever since Treasure Planet."

"You'll have to introduce me, so I know you're not a liar trying to entice me with tall tales." Her heart flutters when he laughs at her joke but he seems to take it into consideration.

"Tomorrow, I'l introduce you. He's fluttering around the ship right now."

"You're all adventurers..." She comments knowingly, easing her hand from his grasp imperceptibly.

"Nothing has ever really held me in one place for too long. Not since that night before the inn was destroyed."

"Do you have a plan?" She asks, and the jaded tone of her voice bypasses him like it didn't exist at all.

"It's not really a plan." He explains, becoming excited again. "I'm eighteen, I just wanna travel to all the places in the galaxy that I can-"

"Live everyday like an adventure." She says, her smile hiding her envy.

"Exactly! I want the ship to be my home, I want to live without rules- and if there are any, I want to break them. I want to soar across the sky without any worries, be with who I want when I want. Do what I want, where I want to do it." Laughter bubbles past her lips delicately as he springs into a sitting position, his gesturing hands becoming avid and elated.

"Sounds like a wonderful adventure."

Jim watches the longing on her face, and he asks, "What kind of adventures will you have?"

"I've already had my adventure." She says elusively, no longer teasing but isolated somehow.

"It's not like a first love or a life, Mel. You can have more then one." He jokes. But she smiles at him a little sullenly, as if she wants to say more to it- explain or maybe allude just a little bit. Instead she stands, dusting off her skirt before slipping her shoes onto her damp feet. The corset still hanging like a weight from her grasp.

"I should be going," She points to the horizon. "Sunset will be here soon."

"I'll walk you back." Jim says as he stands, ready to be the gentleman. But she puts her hand to his shoulder, easing him backward.

"Umm, it's probably best that we're not seen together."

"Why?" He asks, perplexed and a little wounded. But then he remembers, like a memory old and frayed, it seems so long ago that they'd made their agreement.

"It's just not really... prudent for someone like me." _To be seen alone with a man I could never marry... _

He's hurt by the truth he already knows. How could things have changed so quickly? But in this moment, he refuses to be wrong. "You didn't strike me as someone who cared what other people thought." He throws back, the fact that she'd wounded him evident in his voice.

Melody looks at him, a strange feeling of pity crumbling in her chest as she watches him. He could never understand. "I have to go," She says rushed, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. He doesn't stop her. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She calls behind her hopefully.

"Meet me aboard the ship." He says, as if he's challenging her. _Why is he doing this? They both wanted the same thing out if this... didn't they?_

She turns to him again, a desperate look marring her features. "We can meet here, if that's better." He amends reluctantly.

It was obvious her mind or heart hadn't changed. _Well if that's how she was going to be, he could be detached too. Who was she, just some girl. This was a fling. It didn't mean anything... _The thought is unconvincing even as he thinks it. But he forces down the words like sour food, willing it to be true.

"I'll be here."

Jim watches as she climbs back up the stair-like wall. She's gone all too quickly and he tries to staunch feeling of anxiousness to see her again- in spite of the strange sting in his chest after she said she couldn't be seen with him. In spite of the promise he's made to himself. He let's it go, pushing it away into a dark corner where it can't find him again for while. He leaves for his ship before the tide can rise, before he can have too much time to think about where he knows this is all going...


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: A thank you for sticking with me this long and my crazy updating schedule. Also, in case you want to skip where it gets really sexy, or "mature", I've added a line break so you'll know where to call it quits if you really want to. As always, enjoy!

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Jim is there, true to his word, waiting for her the next day. His leather jacket in a crumpled heap at his feet, his eyes trained on the horizon of the ocean. His sullen and wounded demeanor is gone. The Jim she first met is back... aloof and single minded. He turns when he hears her coming. As soon as her feet touch the ground he pulls her to him, kissing her so strongly her lips are red and feel bruised hours later. His mouth is rough and unforgiving as he moves over her, pushing her up against the wall of the cave or the stones beneath them. Sometimes like he wants to hurt her, other times... she's unsure of and afraid to contemplate.

They never speak, except for a mumbled _thank you _here or a hushed _sorry _there...

When it's over her clothes are rumpled and her hair is in disarray around her shoulders. She leaves without a word, but not for lack of trying. Every time she tries he silences her with a kiss, stealing her breath away and something else she can't really name. For the next several days that's how it goes. They kiss and touch and feel, but they rarely speak and they never go further than first agreed.

_**You're**__ the one that wanted it this way, __**you**__ told him this is how it would be- how it __**had **__to be... _Her conscience throws at her as she sits in her room. The brightness of the moon hanging high in the cloudless sky the only thing lighting her reflection. She feels too jaded to even turn on the oil lamps or the candle at her bedside.

_How had it gone so wrong so quickly?_ She wonders.

_It's better this way, he'll be leaving eventually and neither of you can be heartbroken if this is all it is. As long as it never comes to love. _Her conscience reasons. She knows them through and through, the reasons and excuses, chanting them as she falls asleep... when she wakes... as they kiss...

_It's already too late... _She thinks as she pears out her balcony, a lone tear trailing hot and slow down her cheek, his ship is lit by a single flicker of light. As soon as she looks, it's doused and she knows that he sees her. That somehow he's watching her, but it doesn't scare her. Because she's watching him too, and they both have their reasons. "I'm already in love with him..."

_Then end it now_.

Melody moves to her vanity, slamming her brush down with a resounding crack against the wood. She rushes back to the balcony doors, slamming them shut before shoving the lock into place and ripping the thick velvet curtains closed. With the loss of light she suddenly feels very cold. Her arms fold across her chest, her thin white night gown providing no warmth. She stands for a moment before the tears come again.

Melody pulls back the thick covers, burying herself between blankets and pillows she cries herself silently to sleep.

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She doesn't stay in sleep for long. When she wakes the sun hasn't even begun to make it's arduous trek across the heavens. So she lies there in the darkness, closing her eyes in hopes that sleep will find her once again.

It doesn't, minutes pass like hours until she's sure she's been in bed for the better part of a year before she hears Alice enter.

Upon seeing Melody's moving to sit in bed she says, "Good morning mistress, I think today is going to be a lovely day." She moves to open the curtains but Melody stops her as soon as her fingertips graze the fabric.

"Actually Alice I'm not feeling too well, my head kind of hurts." Says meekly.

Alice nods quickly before moving to light the lamps around the room, dimming them so as not to offend her mistresses health. In the better lighting Alice can see Melody more clearly. Puffy eyes and swollen lips, Alice suspects that Melody is lying but knows enough about matters of the heart to just play along. "I will draw your bath and inform your mother-"

"There's no need to tell her, Alice." Melody says quickly but Alice's eyes are kind as she moves to Melody. Placing her hand over the younger girls comfortingly.

"Just so she won't worry why your not at breakfast. Don't worry mistress." She presses a motherly kiss to Melody's forehead before bustling back out of the room.

It hadn't all been a lie, her crying from the night before had caused her head to feel cloudy and pressured when she woke this morning. Melody eases out of the bed sluggishly, moving to her wardrobe she grabs the first thing her fingers touch. Not too caring as to what it is.

She throws it haphazardly onto the bed, it lands rumpled and unrecognizable. But she already knows it, she's worn it so few times. A pale blue gossamer-like fabric, layered to provide decency but still very beautiful. She had sincerely liked the dress, but it had been a gift from a suitor and before she had felt uncomfortable wearing it. Now, she couldn't care less. She pulls out the other essentials, letting them land scattered across her bed like toys on her floor when she'd but a child.

The bath is brought in and swiftly prepared as she goes through her belongings. Just perusing as something to do instead of sitting still and watching the servants as they filled the bath. She thanks them like always before slipping into the warm water. She doesn't stay for long, she doesn't even enjoy it. Once she feels clean enough she jumps out, scrunching her hair with a thick towel until it no long drips water down her bare back. She dresses just as quickly, but not before Alice puts her in the corset- mercifully looser than before but still snug enough to feel the press of her own rib cage.

Melody doesn't tell Alice as she leaves her room, she can't stay there. Jim had been there, and when she's in there all she can do is remember every detail of it. She just needs to get out. She walks quickly, knowing well the best paths to take and rooms to hide in and where she's unlikely to run into anyone. An hour later she's in the south wing, roaming down a sunlit but empty hallway. Her shoes dangle from her fingers as her bare stockinged feet pad across the floor. heading for one of her better hiding places, since she knew Jim would be at the cove.

The library in the south wing is twice as massive as the main one in the west wing. Ladders line he shelves and she recalls being a child, swinging across the shelves like Tarzan from a rope. That had been one of the many stories her father had read to her as a child. Only adventure books, never love stories or entirely happy endings. Maybe he always knew, she might not ever have them. And he didn't want to promise them to her if he couldn't be sure. _He knew_... she thinks.

"Smart man." She says aloud as she climbs the pantheon of stairs, seeming so much larger when she was a child. Eventually she reaches the third level, looking for the hidden stairs to a tiny fourth level. From there she could see the entire library, she suspected some paranoid old crone had built it so as to keep an eye on servants or guests.

She found it all on her own as a child, the stairs creaky and coated in a thick layer of fine dust. She suspected even her parents didn't know about it. At the center of the little square of floor was a tiny yellow couch, bleached nearly white by the constant sunlight filtering through another tiny window. It was built like a sanctuary, a previously empty shelf of books now lined with her favorites as she'd moved them over the years.

A thin imperceptible puff of dust rises as Melody plops herself onto the couch, holding her nose so she won't sneeze. She basks in the warmth of the sun, her feet hanging over the opposite arm rest. Absentmindedly her eyes watch the window, it's view was of the town opposite the sea. She remembers standing outside as a child, trying in vain to find this tiny window from out there. It was almost impossible. A statue on the ledge distorted the outside view but only barely hindered the indoor view.

Whoever had built it was, totally crazy, but clever. She laughs at the thought, reaching behind the couch and toward the shelf she pulls a heavy book of fairytales. Flipping through brittle yellow pages she loses herself in them, hours pass like minutes and she finds herself on a fourth book of poems when the sun is low enough in the sky that she knows dinner has passed.

She creeps to the kitchen first, as it is closest, her stomach growling the entire way. It's dark and empty when she arrives, no one but a young maid sweeping- although in truth she's older than Melody herself.

"Excuse me." Melody says quietly, feeling guilty when the girl practically jumps out of her skin. "I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"That's alright your highness," She says, a thick accent the Melody can't place but finds incredible beautiful. "I'm Ingrid."

"That's a beautiful name." Melody offers, stepping closer to the girl as she lights a candle.

"Here you're highness, it's getting dark and you'll be needing this." Her smile is kind and Melody can't help feeling a little better in the other girl's presence.

"Thank you very much. I've actually been hiding all day, is there anything left to eat?" Melody asks, her voice desperately hopeful. Ingrid raises a finger to her lips, trying to think.

"I'm not a good cook," She says apologetically. "But there is some wine and bread, grapes too."

"That's sounds great." Although she's never had a tongue for wine she accepts it anyway as Ingrid pours the final contents of the bottle into short goblet. Next to that she slices the end of a bagget into thin slices. Melody is elated when Ingrid finds a small block of cheese beside the grapes.

Melody eats quickly, sharing with the kind Ingrid as she does. After she drinks the last gulp from her goblet she presses a kiss to Ingrid's cheek, the gnawing feeling of hunger finally sated, and says a quick thank you before leaving again. Ingrid catching her before she can forget the lit candle. Her room isn't too far but it takes awhile as the wine was strong and even now has reddened her cheeks and swayed her step a fraction.

When Melody finally reaches her chambers it feels like a grand victory. She eases the heavy doors open, careful not to make a sound. She closes the doors, pressing her back to them her eyes survey her room. It's clean and orderly, the bath gone as well as her dirty night clothes... Jim sitting on the edge of her bed, the moonlight illuminating him familiarly.

She doesn't miss a beat, as she sets the candle on the nearest table. He watches as she walks over to him, the stern look in his eyes practically daring her to to fight or even explain her absence. She stops just in front of him, peering into his blue-grey eyes through her thick lashes. "I changed my mind." She says simply in that quiet musical voice of hers, taking his hands she places them on her back- just over the tiny row of silk rose-colored buttons.

Though he's taken completely by surprise, he doesn't resist. The argument he'd been rehearsing for the better part of the day when he broke into her room long forgotten as she climbs on top of him. Her dress hiked up to her thighs, knees pressed into the bed on either side of his hips. He begins undoing the buttons as she watches him expectantly, his fingers popping them free expertly one by one. She combs her fingers through his hair, bringing her mouth down to his.

His senses come barreling down on him when he can taste the faintest trace of wine on her tongue, bittersweet. He moves his hands to her shoulders, pushing her back gently to look at her seriously. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm not drunk, if that's what you're thinking." It's times like this he wonders if she can read his mind. There are no slur of her words or random giggling. Both signs of a girl who's had to much to drink, the kind of girl he prefers to avoid in situations like this. She braces her hand against his chest, suddenly pushing him backward on the bed. She reaches around her back, undoing the last few buttons herself. They both reach for the edge of her dress that's bunched around her thighs, pulling it off and over her head. She tosses it into a corner as he pulls off his jacket and shirt, letting them fall to the foot of the bed. Forgotten.

She can feel the condemnation at the back of his mind as he eyes her corset. She pulls him in again for a kiss, hoping to distract him as he begins to pull at the laces- his rough knuckles grazing her chest through the thin chemise. She grinds her hips into his without thinking, only aching for that friction she'd long deprived herself of. His hands snap to her hips, gripping with white knuckles trying to hold them still.

"Mel don't." She only barely registers the nickname, but it warms her heart a little more at the sound of it breathless and on his lips. She slows down her pace, unable to make herself stop completely. She pulls the corset hanging limp across her body and lets it fall to the ground in a dull rustling sort of sound. That hard look engulfs his features, only his eyes tell her something different. Pain, regret maybe? "I can't do this." He grunts out suddenly.

With an ease he didn't know he possessed, Jim lifts her off his tense body- willing himself to not groan at the absence. Melody stands, suddenly angry. Suddenly furious.

"Why?" She demands.

"Are you a virgin?" He demands right back.

Her arms fold over her chest, unconsciously pushing her breasts enticingly higher. He tries to focus on her face, betraying everything he thinks she won't say. "You know I am." She says in low sort of voice, and he can't place what it is- _why_ it is- that she sounds ashamed.

"Why give that to me?" He needs to know.

"What?" She asks, sincerely confused- clearly not the questions she was expecting from him.

"Why give that to me?" He asks again, enunciating every word. "If I mean so little to you... if this is nothing but a footnote in our lives... then why give it to me?" A part of him can't believe he's actually doing this instead of what his body has been begging him to do for the past two weeks.

"I wanted it to be you." She says quietly, unable to face him as the words tumble from her.

"You mean you'd _rather _it'd be me." He accuses. Her head snaps toward him, all fury rushing back. "Instead of whatever bratty prince you end up marrying who probably couldn't even figure where to put it if he had all day." She blushes at the proverbial 'it', but doesn't let herself get sidetracked.

"What does it matter? Isn't this what you've been after the whole time? To get me into bed, turn me into another one of your infamous conquests!" He pales at the accusation, because she's dead on- she couldn't have been more right. "Do you think I'm some simple-minded woman who doesn't know men, who didn't know what you were after this whole time?"

The silence becomes so deafening and heavy, he can't help but break it with a weak defense. "Thats not the point."

"Like hell its not!" She almost screams. "We had an agreement, I never deceived you in that." She ignores the that he once thought her a maid and she hadn't corrected him. But he didn't bring it doesn't mention it and so she isn't going to either. "So _why_ is this suddenly such a problem?"

In a flash his hands are gripping her forearms, pressing her into the far wall. She's suddenly afraid, for the first time she's afraid as his hands clench around her. "Because I'm in love with you." He whispers, but it cuts through the air between them like a knife. Jim's body melds with hers, every inch of them touching. She can feel his arousal pressing into her, rocking so that her eyes fall closed and the smallest of whimpers escapes her. And it's all he can do to not take her right there- damn everything after.

But he doesn't, he stifles his need a little longer- if only to say his peace. "I love you." He says again. "And I can't just be a footnote in your life, a damn nobody who doesn't mean anything. I need to know..." He trails off, unsure how to say it. But he finds that he doesn't have to.

"I can't say it, Jim." She says, tears suddenly prickling her eyes.

"Why?" His voice is thick, sad- and it breaks her heart.

"Because you'll stay. You'll leave everything you've ever wanted behind." Her hands raise to cup either side of his face, holding his gaze to her. "Your like a bird Jim. I have no right to cage you here."

"Come with me then." He says, like a drowning man grasping at empty air for salvation. "We could have adventures and long lives, bound to nothing and no one but each other."

Tears fall silently at the sound of his hope, at having to dash it all away. "I'm already bound here." She says sadly. "I'm already caged." She can feel the slump of his body, the energy draining away at every cut of her words. "But being with you, Jim- I _feel _free." She raises up on the tips of her toes. Lips and hot breath grazing his ear as she speaks, like a final request. "Make me free Jim."

And like vines arching toward the sun, toward the source of light and life, his mouth finds hers.

All concessions made, all consequences damned except for one.

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His hips arch into hers, suddenly unbearably aching to be inside her- forever a part of her. Jim reaches down his hands grasping behind her thighs- he lifts her up. Gracefully Melody's legs entwine around his waist- the heels of her feet pressing pleasurably into the small of his back. She pulls desperately at his shirt until it's tossed carelessly away. Their hips rasping almost frantically as he tries to maneuver them toward the bed without falling. His hands tangle in the edges of her chemise, edging it higher and higher until she's helping him pull it off. Her bare chest pressed against his as his tongue and lips trace her collarbone.

It feels like years before her back hits the mattress, Jim tumbling down on top of her. He disengages himself from her, unhooking her ankles behind him. Kneeling on the edge of the bed, her legs still caged on either side of him. She blushes as he gazes down on her half-naked form, admiring and memorizing it seemed. Neither says anything. She reaches for his hands, the rough labored feeling of them forever etched into her memory, placing them on her hips he takes the hint. His fingers hook in the waistband of the last piece of cloth, easing it off unbearably slow. He savors the sight. As each new inch of skin is revealed, the strain of her muscles as she lifts her hips to help him.

The way he watches her fills her with a sudden power, she sits up boldly. Her small hands falling to the waistband of his pants. She watches his face, the way his eyes become heavy lidded- never looking away from her. He sucks in a breath as she eases the button free then the strange uniform line metal hooks. Her finger lightly grazes him through the fabric but she can feel him tense to the very tips of his toes. She's never done this before, she's learning as she goes.

But she revels in this feeling, the look he gets when she touches him epitomizing the way he can make her feel with a single heady look or burning kiss. She follows his lead, pushing down the garment until he's as naked as she is. His body is etched in lines of hard muscle- crisscrossing his torso, a V on his hips leading down to... Without thinking about it, instinctively maybe, she leans down pressing her lips gently to the top of the V of his hips.

Jim snaps, pushing Melody backward onto her bed- his hips cradled between her warm thighs, covering her body again with his own. He reaches down, hand cupping her intimately, the rough pad of his thumb eases in and runs deliberately over the tiny bundle of nerves he knows is there. For a moment she isn't sure if she's in pleasure or pain, her body arching like bow and a strangled sort of scream or moan tearing through her, the feeling he invoked was so intense.

In the fraction of a second when he stops, she's entirely sure it was pleasure as her hand flies to his wrist. Grasping tightly and urging him to continue. He obliges, a roguish smile gracing his features as her eyes slide closed and her body arches and stretches before him. Her form writhing in abandon and displaying before him a beauty he found incomparable. He can feel a tightening in his own body, he tries to spur things faster.

His mouth finds her breast, simultaneously he eases a finger- then second- into her. Arching higher, twisting toward something unknown to her, Melody presses the heels of her feet into the mattress. Biting on her lip to keep from screaming, the whimpers of incredible desire sweeping through her audibly in spite of it. Suddenly, like a spark of white light in pure darkness something releases within her. The race finally over with her heart pounding in her chest.

Even in the afterglow he isn't finished. His voice floats to her ears strained, "Mel, stay with me."

She nods, vaguely aware as he rights himself. She can feel his hardness pressing into her, just there- almost close enough. "I love you." He says, just before his hips press forward. Her innocence breaks away, and she's surprised. Not by the action but by the intensity of the pain that followed. She knew it would hurt, but the unbidden tear that slides down her cheek betrays this truth she hadn't fully realized.

Melody peers up at Jim carefully.

He seemed to be in more pain than she was. His eyes are clenched closed, his teeth biting into his lip- drawing a pin point of blood there. His hands clawed into the sheets at either side of her head. He was waiting for her to adjust, trying to keep himself under control. Trying to keep himself from thrusting into her to stint the immense want surging through his body. She was tightly clenched around him, soft and just... overwhelming. But he waited.

He didn't want to hurt her, he couldn't, even if she told him she wanted to stop at that very moment. He would do it, because he loved her. He never anticipated how much she would mean to him so quickly- if at all...

So he's a little startled when he feels the tips of her fingers brush his cheek, stroking back the locks of hair that have fallen forward- tickling the skin of her cheek. Jim opens his eyes and becomes lost in the blueish grey depths of her gaze, not realizing the confirmation there- the delicate urgency to keep going. Until she raises her lower half, suddenly taking him in deeper until he's engulfed within her. He lets out a feral sort of growl at the sensation, but Jim takes her lead. Intending to go slow.

But once they find a rhythm all his good intentions are shot to hell. His body moves of it's own rapid accord. His hand cups behind her knee, slowly easing it up until it's hooked over his shoulder. A single hard push and she surges forward, her teeth bitting down on his shoulder, a desperate cry muffled. Suddenly everything changes. Hands on her hips, tilting them. Every thrust is strong and deliberate. The purpose to bring that sound rushing through her over and over again until...

He nearly collapses when her walls clench around him, gripping him. Her body snaps for the second time, teeth worrying into her swollen lower lip, eyes closed. This desperate silence, in her he finds it beautiful and erotic. She's lost in the afterglow, the feeling of him still moving inside her, the feelings- no longer a spark but pure blinding white lights like exploding stars. "Mel... Mel..." He rasps.

She knows what he means to say. Mustering the last of her strength Melody finds their rhythm again, her mouth trailing wet and soft up his neck, over the strong plane of his jaw- trying to give as much as she got, trying desperately to make him him feel like she had- until she's just below the juncture between his neck and jaw. Her warm breath on his ear she says, at last like an epiphany or a secret, "I love you Jim."

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And with those words he arches into her at last, filling her to the hilt. His body spasms, spilling everything, his very soul into her. Jim collapses, all his strength spent. She relaxes beneath his weight, finding it comforting somehow. She clings to him when it's over, their bodies still joined long after. This was better than flying, better than freedom, being with him...

His cheek rested against her chest as she stroked his hair, combing her finger through the soft tendrils. He doesn't mention her confession, and she doesn't say how he'll have to leave soon so as not to be discovered. When she feels him relax as if in sleep, she allows herself to drift off.

_Yes, _she thinks with a sense of sad finality, _I have damned __**all **__the consequences_...


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry again for the late update. Just got real busy and unfortunately extremely uninspired for awhile. Anyway I'll let you get on with it, kind of short but I rewrote this chapter like five times.

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_Do reasons matter when nothing can be done to change the outcome? [Will. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. Read it, it's wonderful!]_

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"Mel?"

Her breath is light, barely strong enough to shake the tendrils of his hair that tickle against her lips. The barely imperceptible rise and fall of her chest, the feel of her warm skin on his. These simple, natural things about her, seem to be the only things keeping him sane as he lies awake at her side, afraid to fall asleep.

He lifts a hand to her brow, gently pushing back the dark strands that have gone astray. "Mel?" He says again softly. She stirs but doesn't wake and so he gives up.

Perhaps, it would be best to simply leave as she slept. Avoid the conversation he knows is coming. He didn't even know what he would have said anyhow. That he loved her, maybe. That now, he wanted so badly to live in these moments with her for the rest of his life, and if there was something after that- he'd wish the same.

When she says she won't marry him, he knows it isn't simply that she would regret taking him from a life of perilous adventures, it's that he couldn't marry her. Or at least, someone like him, couldn't.

It didn't matter what he'd done on his home planet, what being a highly-trained galactic ship captain meant in that world. Here it didn't mean squat. He had no money. He had no title. A king would never approve of such an unfavorable match for his daughter. For his kingdom...

Jim had to admit that was the only part of his dream that he just couldn't picture, being a king someday. Melody was their only daughter, the only possible heir to the throne would be her husband and no other. If he stayed with her, and by some miracle, allowed to marry her- he would become king to the land. And if she left with him... once her father died there would be no one to take his place. His kingdom could fall to ruin, a whole legacy spent for nothing in the end.

But leaving her behind... to marry someone else. Possibly even love someone else... have children and grandchildren... all of whom would hold no part of him. It was a thought that twisted his insides. Made tears prickle behind his eyes and his stomach turn.

He watches the way she shifts beside him, seemingly still in sleep. Her lashes are as dark as her hair, thick so that they seem more like a butterfly's wings resting against her cheeks. He let's the tip of his finger trace her lips, that odd curve unlike any he'd seen before. So that she seemed permanently shy.

He should go.

Jim knows he should, his skin can already sense the dawn leering ever closer on them. He sits up in the bed, already pulling on his clothes when he feels something, or someone, grasp his wrist. He looks down to see her long delicate fingers wrapped around his skin and blood and bones.

"Don't go." She says, still a bit cloaked by sleep.

He laughs and slides closer to her so that he can whisper, for an irrational fear of waking anyone. The play of his flexing muscles beneath his golden skin is heartbreakingly beautiful, for a second she feels like crying. _I hate that I have to give him up_...

"I'll be back." He pushes back a lock of her silk black hair, she lets herself fall into the sensation- basking in it. "I'll always come back for you..." His voice is so low, she isn't a hundred percent sure she heard him right.

Melody opens her eyes slowly to look at him a little remorsefully, sad that it would be over too soon. Sad that she'd allowed it to happen at all. She'd practically invaded his life and now she was ripping his heart in pieces by sending him away, like a dirty secret. She wants to tell him that if she could she'd tell everyone how much she loved him, scream it from the skies. Marry him even...

Instead she turns to the side of the bed, reaching down to the floor, hands scrambling around until her fingers grasp around his familiar thick leather jacket. She swings her legs out from under the covers, feet pressing into the cold floor, she stands. He lets himself fall back onto the bed, waiting. Wrapping herself in the jacket, in him, delicately. He keeps his gaze trained on her, for a moment confused and worried that he's said too much.

She walks over to her vanity, long legs almost shimmering in the moonlight- like water. Her fingers wrap around the gold necklace he'd seen and touched the first time he came to her. The memory flashing in the forefront of his mind like a movie. She eases back onto the bed beside him, long limbs disappearing beneath the sheets once more, necklace cradled in her palms and face contorted in thought.

"There's something I haven't told you." Her thumb caressing the shell-shaped locket and he waits quietly for her to continue- figuring that what she's saying is somehow important. "There's a story among fishermen around here... " her voice becomes distant, focused solely on the object in her hand and the story from her memories- as if very far away from her now. "About a King, a merman, who rules the seven seas. Calm waves are his caprice and the tsunamis his rage. He was graced with the most beautiful wife, and the most exquisite daughters... but no sons. His youngest was said to be the most free-spirited, his favored, with a voice that could rival the angels in heaven... They used to say you could see her sometimes, and if you were especially lucky you might hear her voice being carried on the waves as she sings to them for luck. She was so enamored with landsmen she often came to the surface to admire them and envy them."

Jim breaks the following silence and asks- albeit a little teasingly, as if he is certain this is only a fairytale. "Used to? What happened to her?"

At that moment, Melody slides her fingers over either side of the locket- easing the tiny treasure open. Before his very eyes is something like his holographic story books, but somehow very different. Not a flicker of technology... "No one's seen her in seventeen years." She hands him the locket, allowing him to examine the image.

Inside the bubble an opulent and glittering castle, odd angles and curved. Like nothing he'd ever come across before. It glinted in thousands of different colors each way he urned it like a mirage of sorts. Swirling around it were beautiful creatures, half-human half-fish... he'd heard such tales before but never actually believed... "What is this?"

"It's called Atlantica, kingdom of the merpeople. Where King Triton lives and rules... where my mother's father lives..." She says carefully. His eyes fall to her, examining the insinuation there.

"They're mermaids?" She nods cautiously keeping her gaze focused on Jim, gauging his reaction. "Your... a mermaid?" She nods again, shaking that pesky lock of hair back over her eyes. For awhile he doesn't say anything, doesn't even look at her. With every second, Melody's nerves are fraying closer and closer to nothingness.

"I'm actually only half mermaid." Melody amends, trying to diffuse the awkward silence. "My mother fell in love with my father, she chose a human life. _I _was born human, I only go to Atlantica during special occasions- sometimes years apart..."

He lets it all sink in. The things she'd been hiding from him, her single adventure, had been _this_ the entire time. Something he'd have never guessed. He sees her in the edge of his vision, knees curled to her chest- bare form wrapped in his jacket. The fear bubbling to the surface, that her confession might have changed things between them. Changed his feelings for her.

No, he doesn't love her any less. If anything, her honesty is only tying them tighter together, like a woven blanket. Where it ended and where it began become unrecognizable to him, and when it is undone and picked apart its not nearly as remarkable. "So where is... how do you become-"

"A mermaid?" She laughs, the light in his eyes telling her everything is okay- her worst fears dashed away by his smile and acceptance. "Magic I guess," though she feels a little silly calling it that, "Only King Triton could change me now."

"Your grandfather?"

"Yes."

"This... explains a lot, you know." He curls his fist, effectively closing the locket- silencing the image for now. Thinking absently about her mother, the day they went swimming, everything that suddenly clicked together...

"You're not mad?"

"I'm surprised too." He admits, pressing the locket back into her hand. She smiles folding herself into the safety of his embrace. "What's it like there?"

"It's beautiful. I'd go there every summer if I could."

"Why don't you?"

She tells him the story of Ursula, as it was told her. And of Morgana, as she had experienced it. "I did something stupid and selfish. It's difficult for my mother to forget. She's made her concessions I suppose, but I feel guilty asking for more. I feel like I hurt her sometimes, when I leave. She looks at me like I hate it here- like I hate them both..."

"But you don't." She can't explain the relief that sweeps through her every limb that he knows that, without her even having to say it aloud.

"I love them so much." His hand strokes her side, pulling the covers back around them.

"Even if I asked you to come with me, you wouldn't would you." She doesn't speak but her silence is answer enough for him. How had she become so entangled, trapped and tied by a hundred different things.

So obliged to her parents that she could never leave them.

To her heritage, she had a kingdom waiting for her- the only child to a king.

And to Jim, how would she feel when he left? Would she care?

He feels her arms tighten around his torso and realizes how stupid the question is. "I should go." He says after a few moments, the sky becoming brighter with each passing moment. She doesn't say anything at first until he stands to leave, detangling himself from her grasp gently.

"Meet me at the cave at noon." He looks back and nods silently. Even now he knows that he will do anything she asks, because he's feeling something indescribable when he thinks of her. It's more than love, more than desire or need. It changed into something beautiful and terrifying all at the same time...

She watches him go, the sun slowly rising to chase him away. She doesn't want him to go, she doesn't want this world to go away even for a second. This world where all that matters is what they feel for each other and that everything now is enough.

As she watches him leave in his glider from her balcony she wonders, what it is she's done to deserve this. To want so many things she can never have.

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Disclaimer: i always forget to put this because i think it's kind of obvious that I am not the creator of these fandoms. anyway i own nothing but the plot. k thnx bye :)

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, hope to have the next one up sooner!


	10. Chapter 10

_When collecting angels come  
I will rush to find your prayers  
They're buried in the closet under the stairs  
under boxes of my dreams  
and the clutter of my fears  
my selfishness is probably why theyre here  
and i kept digging my own grave  
Im close to 30 miles deep  
I can taste the other side and it isnt pretty  
and i left my lover in a bottle  
and i threw it out to sea  
as soon as she left my fingertips I prayed she come back to me  
come back to me baby  
I lost her  
I lost her  
I lost her  
I lost her_

_-** Brighten "I Lost Her"**_

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"A ball..." Melody repeats a little dazed, the dread evident in her voice. Alice nods happily as she lays out nearly twenty or more fabric choices across her rumpled bedsheets. Where she and Jim had been together not long before her maid came in to wake her. Something in her grains against the thought but Melody won't dwell on it now. Alice had come to tell her the _seemingly_-good news, that her parents would be hosting a masquerade ball. As well as to ask Melody to choose a fabric for her new dress for the occasion.

She stares after the bright and intricate fabrics, lost in thought. This could mean only one thing... yet another suitor had come to light.

Or possibly one she had met before would be returning...

Her parents weren't the lavish type to throw such an extravagant party for no sincere reason. If it was no ones birthday she had a reason to be suspicious of a party. Melody was having slight de ja vu, in which she'd been in this situation not a month before Jim had come into her life. The suitor that had come had been a mere Duke, from some land far from her own. He had been cordial and kind, talked avidly with her father and complemented her mother endlessly. He had _almost_ beenperfect.

As entertaining as he had been, he'd made no proposal before leaving. Melody had been surprised but certainly not disappointed. A few former suitors had proposed the moment they met her. Melody wasn't so vain as to believe her looks had anything to do with it, but that she was merely a consolation prize to them. They had all had their eyes on a bigger prize, her title and her fortune.

But the Duke had been very different, more like someone she could have sincerely befriended. At the time she knew she had still felt too young to even think of accepting a proposal, no matter how long the engagement. It seemed he'd understood and only left her with the promise that he would return one day to see her again, whether it was to ask for her hand or simply to enjoy her company he had never made clear.

Before Jim, she had truly felt that if she had to choose anyone- it might've been the Duke.

_Before Jim_... her mind echoes and her stomach twists- the nauseated and dizzy feeling sweeping over her. At random she grabs a scrap of black lace and presses it into Alice's open palm.

"Miss are you sure you wouldn't like something more vibrant? Perhaps this pink silk?" Alice barely has time to reach for the other piece before Melody shakes her head.

"No Alice, the black is fine." By Alice's dismay it only confirmed her suspicions, she'd worn a similarly pink gown the last time she'd seen the Duke... He would be returning again. Now black seemed evermore appropriate, mourning a love soon to be lost to the skies and stars... mourning her freedom that would now always and forever go with hand in hand with Jim. "I'm going out, I'll be back before dinner." She says to Alice shakily before tugging her shoes on and nearly sprinting down the staircase to the cove, her long black hair whipping behind her like a trail of smoke or a shadow.

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The water kicks up near his boots, inching slowly closer. He can feel the piercing coolness in contrast with the hot weather as he tips the stiff paper in his hands. His calloused thumb tracing the delicate script on it, rereading the words over and over again, more out of boredom than anything else.

Finally there's a rustle of skirts and shifting pebbles as Jim sees Melody walking toward him. He can't help the way her presence tugs at the corners of his mouth and makes his heart beat a little faster. "Where've you been?" He asks casually, if only to break the silence between them.

"Just busy." She says before reaching out for him and lifting up onto the tips of her toes to press a kiss to his lips. It's meant to be quick and chaste, simple. But the moment he feels her presence invading his, his hands come up of their own accord. She's pulled in just as quickly. The burning passion that turned to love now tainted with her fears and worries... her fingers clench in his jacket- nails digging into the leather. Jim's hands drop the paper in favor of tangling in her hair and the skirt at her hip. Soon his tongue is in her mouth, teasing her mind into stupidity and body into a dizzying sort of feeling. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen...

Even as she mentally acknowledges that she needs to breathe, her fingers move to twist in his short brown hair and tug him even closer. She wants him close like last night. To the point where she can't tell where one of them ends and the other begins.

She doesn't care if she suffocates, cause this would be the perfect last memory to take with her. The feeling of his mouth on hers, her heart pounding in her chest because every time feels like the first time...

He tries to ease away, to catch a breath, but she follows him. Unable to control herself. He laughs and she can feel his smile against her lips and it makes her want to cry because everything about_ this boy_ is _entirely _perfect and beautiful and just...

Jim's hands fall from her hair to her shoulders, slowly easing her away so that they could breathe. He laughs as he presses smaller kisses to her lips, his chest heaving as he pulls in gasps of air- as if he'd just been underwater.

With every kiss becoming smaller and smaller, she can't help thinking how it feels like a goodbye.

"I love you." She blurts out, throwing it out like a lifeline in hopes to pull him back. Or maybe in a vain attempt to keep herself from drowning. Though she swore to herself that morning- for both their sakes- that she'd only say it that once when they slept together, but Melody can't seem to stop herself.

He leans back to examine her expression and looks her in the eye cautiously before telling her that he loves her too. "Are you okay?" Jim asks carefully and she realizes before he can even complete the thought, that she has to stop tainting every second with worry and 'what if's'. She doesn't want to remember their time like this, feeling sad instead of happy and wonderful that she ever got to met him and be with him at all. No, she won't worry anymore.

She physically shakes herself, all the troubling thoughts falling far away yet again to be ignored. "I'm fine." Melody lifts her hands over his. "I just couldn't wait to see you..." She tries to make her voice convincing.

His expression is still careful, trying to read between the lines. He mistakes her anxiety for fear and says, "I wasn't gonna just take what I wanted from you and leave, Mel." Her heart curls around the nickname for reasons she may never be able to explain. "You trust me, don't you?"

The question takes her back, _when had she not trusted him_?_ Never_.

Even when she shouldn't have, she did. Even now... "I do." She says with an obvious tremble in her voice. From unbidden tears simmering beneath the surface or fears constantly gnawing sway at her very soul, no matter how she promises and fights to keep them at bay, she couldn't say. Only that all were present, waring inside her without any cares for casualties.

For a few moments afterward they are silent, both unsure what to say after suddenly becoming so intense. Melody breaks away from him when a gust of wind blows a scrap of paper against her feet. "What's this?" She asks as her fingers grasp at the familiar paper. _An invitation?_

"Oh yeah," He runs a hand through his hair nervously. "a page brought that by this morning." She reads the invitation carefully, not really noticing his rambling. The scrawling black ink beckoned all presenting an invitation to come join them for a ball at the castle in the late evening... Jim would be there, and possibly the Duke. Melody doesn't even think twice about whether or not to tell Jim the truth, it would have been unfair to keep it from him and possibly end up stomping on his heart in public. She spins on her heel to face him and his sentence fades off into nothing upon noting the seriousness of her expression.

"There's something you need to know."

"What is it?" He asks carefully, something about her expression making him unsure if he wants to know.

"There may be someone there tonight, a Duke I met briefly before you came... before I ever met you." She stumbles over the words, twining her fingers together against her. She's afraid to look at him. Afraid to see any pain there at all, let alone that it was any of her doing.

Jim catches her meaning slowly and suddenly wishes he hadn't stopped kissing her earlier, that he hadn't left her bed this morning... that he didn't have to hear this now. That he didn't have to be reminded yet again that he was losing her, and it was simply a matter of time.

"He came before as a suitor, but didn't offer marriage at first." She pauses, trying to gauge his expressionless face as he stares out at the ocean before them. Watching the waves crash distantly, ripping grains of sand from the beach and dragging them into the dark depths... "I think my parents may have asked him back... to propose."

"And what will you say?" He asks through gritted teeth, his hands fisting in his pockets. For a second she's taken aback by his brazen question, one they'd unconsciously danced around since they met, since the realized this was more than need or love.

"I... I don't know." But she does know. She knows that if the Duke asks her to marry him she'll say yes, because only Jim seemed the better prospect. The only one she truly wanted. And could never have.

He steps back, hands fisting tighter with each word. As if she had physically struck him him with her pathetic lie. Jim knows it's for his benefit. But he doesn't care, the thought of meeting... the guy who's already won this stupid game of their lives... kills him. He can feel his lungs constricting, difficult to breathe through his anger. His knuckles are white in his pockets, skin stretched so thin it threatens to tear. Blood to forever stain his clothes with this memory. _Good_, he thinks. Nothing ever made him feel better in a bad moment than actual physical pain, occasionally cushioned by large quantities of alcohol. What he wouldn't give to drown his sorrows in a bottle right now.

Instead he finds himself speaking, jumping the gun and saying things he knows he'll regret. "Is this your way of telling me not to go tonight, so you can go screw around with this _Duke_?" He spits out the title like dirt or bile, disgust evident on his face as she watches him crumble through her burgeoning tears. "So you can trap him the way that you've trapped me?" _Making me love you_, his subconscious adds. "Like a common prostitute."

"How dare you!" She screams, an unadulterated sort of rage mixed with pain shakes her bones as she reaches out to slap him. It's a resounding crack that echoes through their little cave, the sting inside her palm and a reddening imprint across his cheek.

He laughs mirthlessly. Mocking her rage, her feelings. "How could you have ever fooled me? Such a waste." He says, pushing his hair back. Satisfied as the pain clouds her beautiful features. It couldn't possibly ever compare to what he was feeling, the pain that simmered and seared beneath the surface at what felt like her betrayal. It's a twisted version of the truth, he knows, if there was any element of fact to it at all. He doesn't care anymore, somehow hurting her is making him feel better. The lover cast aside like a dirty secret. "A spoiled brat like you deserves a rich boy."

Her hand flies out to strike again but he's prepared and catches her hand. His face tightens as they stare each other down, the tears already making tracks down her cheeks. Suddenly the anger fades as quickly as it came and something in him snaps as a darker thing takes its place. Suddenly he's pushing her against the wall, pressing his body too close for breath and his mouth is ravaging her in that way that made her feel like she was free falling through the sky. For a moment her body falls into the motions, countering the rough movements of his mouth and hips with her own.

Letting herself become swallowed by the sensations. So that she felt blinded to the rest of the world, unaware that any actions she should choose to make could have consequences. And all that mattered was this feeling he could cause in her body without fail every time. She wants it to be okay to give in this time, to submit to primal urges, because she's tired of fighting against a mountain that won't be moved.

But she hits the ground just as suddenly anyway as his fingers claw at her skirts- trying to tug the many folds up. How many times had she incurred his wrath only to end up here again?

Suddenly it seemed like a vicious cycle.

Suddenly it seemed all too real, the pain they caused each other. The pain she still felt at his words even if he thinks he didn't mean them, they had to come from somewhere. Some deep seated thoughts that were in part true to him.

Melody can feel the fight seeping back into her blood, her refusal to be taken like this. She struggles to get away, trying to twist away from his beautiful mouth and arch out of his tightening grasp. She finally manages to tear away with a small scream but still trapped in the cage of his body.

And for the first time, he sees her. Really sees her. Swollen lips. Tracks of tears. Mussed hair and blatant sadness and something else in her eyes. Fear.

Jim jumps back as if burned by her skin, by the look in her eyes. His wide eyes watch her as she practically runs away. Chipping nails as she climbs haphazardly out of the cove. And he watches the spot still long afterward, until the tide slowly rises to soak through the hide of his boots, frozen still by his own actions. Some time later he finally slumps against the wall, staring at his hands as if he'd never seen them before. As if everything about him, his temper and recklessness and how they affected her, were new and ugly.

_I'm a monster_...

How could he claim to love her when he treated her this way, so that some small part of her _feared_ him? She should hate him. She had every right to. No matter how the thought sent him into another bout of physical nausea. He wondered what was worse, her marrying someone else while still in love with him or having her hate him and subsequently falling in love with someone else? Jim's hands rake through his hair in frustration.

Love had ruined him.

It made him do stupid things he never would have done otherwise. Like becoming attached to someone and things he could never have.

It was like when he'd finally begun to trust Silver so long ago. How great it felt to finally have someone look after him like a father might look after his son, teach him and protect him... To be proud of him. And how painful it was to have the rug pulled out from under him with Silver's deception revealed.

Suddenly it dawns on Jim. Even that story had a somewhat happy ending... In the end Silver had done right by him. And Jim did what he'd set out to do. It was a happy ending. Why not this one too?

He reaches out for his invitation but it disintegrates in a soggy pile at his touch. He tries to think again, maybe sneak in? But how-

No, he wouldn't have to go that far. He jumps up to his feet and climbs quickly out of the cave. His boots thud against the sand as he dashes across the beach toward the spot where his glider is hidden. In seconds he's mounted the board and kicked it to blazing life, streaking toward his ship highlighted by the setting sun.

He prays to God Thomas hasn't left yet.

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**_A/N: As always R&R is much appreciated. Hope you guys liked it, the song above inspired this chapter. Youtube - Search: 'brighten i lost her' - Play. DO IT! _**

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	11. Chapter 11

"_When I speak I cross my fingers_

_Will you know you've been deceived?_

_I find the need to be a demon_

_A demon cannot be hurt..._"

**- Guster 'Demon'**

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There was something to be said of Alice's talent as being completely unexpectedly remarkable. Within the glass there stood girl who looked nothing like a girl, but a woman she hadn't realized she was. Her pale skin contrasted starkly with her black dress and even blacker waves of hair. The gown she wore could only be described as belonging to a seductress, intent and well-versed in the art of capturing prey. It was strapless, baring the graceful curves and arches of her neck and shoulders. Only to be synched around her waist and flare out again at the bottom. It dripped jet black lace and beading that shimmered when she moved, like the ocean at midnight basking under the moon and yards of tulle that floated around her like evening clouds.

Melody didn't recognize the other presence in the glass but when she moved her hands to touch the only familiarities, permanently pouted lips and black curls that had been pushed and pinned to cascade over her left shoulder, the figure moved as well. Mimicking her movements perfectly.

"Absolutely beautiful." Alice says from behind, startling her slightly.

"Oh, yes." Melody replies turning away form the mirror, startled from her silent musings. Before the other woman had spoken Melody had been thinking of Jim, what he might think of her now. Would he smile? Or be as floored as she was? Would he... She stops herself there, he wouldn't be thinking anything of it. Jim had made it perfectly clear being around her was the worst thing for him. And she was beginning to believe it. "Its an exquisite gown, Alice." She tries not sound as dejected as she feels but the attempt proved fruitless even to her own ears.

"It is, but I was actually referring to you miss." Melody smiles awkwardly at Alice, not daring to believe the kind words truly. She'd always been that way though, in the shadow of her mother's unearthly beauty Melody had never let the compliments reach her heart.

"Thank you Alice."

"You're welcome, miss. Your parents are already downstairs and the guests have begun to arrive." Alice calls behind her as she moves to gather Melody's dirty clothes from earlier. And adds rather sneakily before leaving entirely, "You should hurry and attend the party miss. Old friends will be missing you."

With the quite snap of the door closing Melody's stomach instantly pivots to the ground, bringing unexplainable tears behind her eyes. _So he has returned_... and her earlier fears had not been entirely unfounded. Before she'd only been guessing at all the blatant signs. Now Alice had confirmed it, and it sent a wrenching pain through her heart. She could physically feel it, Jim slipping away, through her fingers like the fine powdered sand from the beach. Until she was left alone in the darkness, grasping nothing but fleeting wisps of air.

She braces her hands against the mirror, struggling to hold herself together. Despite the way her heart felt like it was being ripped from her body; despite how it seemed ice was piercing through her veins. Freezing her like stone, she was almost at the end now wasn't she? For after all she'd begun to view her life like a tragic tale, her inevitable marriage being the metaphoric death, the end. Jim would leave. She would never be truly happy. Even as she stood there she knew there was no one else in the world like him, she'd never love anyone the same. _How long had she expected to keep him anyway? _ _Even now why couldn't she just hate him and be through with it all?_

He'd practically called her a whore, a waste of his time... And their last kiss, it had been loveless. His punishment for her ever walking into his life. He hated her, why couldn't she do the same?

Because she was a fool. A fool crying over a love already lost. Already over. And she'd reacted like a child, unable to accept it.

She doesn't know what possesses her to do it. Her rage at fate, for spinning her life so horribly wrong. Her hurt over Jim, about what he'd said and done. Her sadness over losing him. Her contempt for the Duke who was not at fault, who had never been anything but kind to her. Unlike Jim... who'd been so unbearably cruel at times and just as unbearably kind afterward.

Her hands fly forward. Slamming heavily into the full length mirror. The glass gives way. Cracking into sharpened webs across her vision and beneath her skin. She can feel the pinpricks of physical pain as her blood pours into the hundreds of cracks, like tiny rivers. Drowning everything else out into oblivion, bringing the kind of quite that is loud and piercing. Almost mechanically, Melody pulls her hands away and tugs on her black satin gloves. Ignoring the wounds, ignoring the pain and simply pretending that they didn't exist. The cuts on her hands, her wounded pride, her bludgeoned heart... None of it mattered now, they could wait.

She takes a deep breath before plummeting into the fray of glittering madness.

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"I can't believe _you're _my date."

"I happen to think I'm quite the catch."

"_I'm_ under the impression that that is what they would call a 'fools paradise'."

Jim grimaces at Thomas's words as he tugs on his white gloves and slips the porcelain white mask over the upper half of his face. They are standing outside the castle, blending in with the other finely dressed gentlemen seamlessly. Before them are several groups of ladies and gentlemen waiting to greet their hosts formally. Melody's parents... "Look, I just came so I could fix something." Jim says, trying to conceal his sudden bout of nervousness. "It's not like I plan to be hanging over you all night anyway. Besides having 'a date' around _here _means something very different than having 'a date' back home."

"What do you mean, do they sacrifice you afterward or something?" Thomas is only joking but Jim laughs at how close to the mark he actually is.

"Somewhat. Having our version of a date around here is actually a prelude that you intend to, at some point, propose and thus marry said person."

Thomas visibly blanches as he slowly turns to face Jim. With an eyebrow firmly raised and suddenly very serious her says to Jim, "I'd like to go home."

"You can't honestly be that afraid of a commitment."

"Oh I think you underestimate the ingenious trap that is a marriage."

"It is not a _trap_."

"Do my ears deceive me, is that our very own infamous bachelor _defending_ marriage?" Thomas asks somewhat incredulously as they inch closer and closer to the foyer.

"All I'm saying is that if the right person came into my life... I wouldn't rule it out." There's a fleeting moment when Jim's mind focuses on Melody. Though it is brief as they finally reach the King and Queen. Thomas hands the guard their invitation for verification. The stout man nods and gestures for them to continue ahead. Their greetings are brief and Jim is relived when it seems that neither monarch appeared to recognize him.

He and Thomas enter the ballroom and it seems dramatically different from the time he'd glimpsed it his first night there. The chandeliers were vibrantly lit so that they appeared to be dripping fist-sized diamonds instead of simple crystal. The room was bathed in warm light, thousands of candles brightening every corner and crevice, throwing reflections off the numerous gold and silver fixtures. The heavy curtains had been removed from the large window pains, pouring the inner light of the castle onto a few feet of lawn outside. Leaving the gardens and shoreline beyond them in darkness and pale moonlight.

The room was filled with people. Ladies in glittering colorful dresses, masks adorned with jewels and tall feathers from every kind of bird. The men were much less extravagant in that they all looked quite similar, even Jim blended in with the most highly set of gentlemen. The mens masks were similarly simple, although most were full faced masks and in varying colors.

Jim was so focused on the females, inspecting each from afar to find one in particular, that he didn't notice Thomas split off into the sea of people with only a silent wave of farewell. In truth Jim is grateful to be alone now, it'll make this much easier. Though he hadn't thought out his plan much further than 'find the girl & apologize'.

Slowly Jim begins to realize all the guests have suddenly gone quite, though some whisper in hushed tones. But all their hooded eyes are fixed ahead, staring at something beyond him. Perplexed, Jim turns to the direction of their gazes toward the long spiraling stair case. It was really a magnificent fixture of the castle, like a work of art. The banister was vines of gold curling and twining down in a spiral, the steps glistening dark wood and candles lining the wall behind. But even that paled in comparison to the woman descending them like a mystically, unbearably beautiful, creature... there she was.

Jim is as transfixed as any of the others. She was beautiful, that for a moment she didn't seem real. For a moment, he was confronted yet again with how unattainable she truly was to him. Too enchanting to be human. And in fact, like her mother, she wasn't entirely so. Encased in a beautiful gown, her hair, her eyes, her stance... He thought he would have trouble finding her. But even Jim hadn't realized how close he'd gotten to her.

Even in a dress that was so ornate it seemed her natural opposite, even with a strip of lace and black powder hiding her eyes... he knows he'd recognize her anywhere. Covered in grime or adorned in the finest gown ever made. He'd know her, and even now he can see her underneath all that. The thought brings a smile to his lips, only to fall yet again as she is greeted at the foot of the steps by a man, bowing mannerly to her.

_The Duke_... he tries to control the hatred he has for this still faceless and ultimately nameless figure. But it doesn't help that beneath the frown on his face is an even more deeply seething pain and anger. There stood his competition, his enemy, not five feet from him.

He could kill him, probably not get away with it, but he could try... It's only a musing however. There are more important things he needs to handle tonight besides his pride and jealousy.

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The man holds his hand out to her, very familiar and somehow very different. He was handsome still. With dark blonde hair pulled back and somewhat athletic build adorned with fine fabrics. Pleasant blue eyes glimmering up at her happily. It was she who was not the same...

Before, she had smiled back at this lovely creature. Even laughed girlishly as he kissed her hand. Before she hadn't been quite this dejected, or filled with so much contempt as her subconscious continuously compared the man before her to another. Another with muscles more thickly set, hair that was several inches shorter and several shades darker. With stormy eyes that matched his demeanor. Hands that only appeared rough, but felt so different against her skin-

"Good evening my lady." His voice interrupts her thoughts and she curtsies back distractedly. He holds his hand out to her, ready to lead her into the throng of elegant lords and ladies. For a second, she moves as if to accept, but instead feels the uncomfortable rub of satin against open wounds and pulls her hand back to her side. Tucking them between the folds of her dark gown.

"Mr. Hanley," She begins a little shakily. "I'm feeling a bit faint. Would you mind bringing something to drink?"

For a moment he seems confused that she did not greet him with more gusto or happy smiles, but takes his leave anyway. "Of course, excuse me for a moment."

She doesn't even watch him go. Thankfully all eyes and conversations have turned away from her, nearly all anyway. A lone pair of familiar stormy gray eyes watches after her as she slinks past the crowd to a safe haven of sorts. A place where the wall curved smoothly outward to create a hidden sort of space where a large table had been placed carrying foods and various things he didn't pay attention to. Thinking quickly, Jim gabs a glass of red liquid from a nearby server and makes his way discreetly toward Melody.

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She's startled when a hand holds a glass of wine in front of her. "How did you-" She was about to ask how he had retrieved it so fast when she turned toward the gentlemen only to realize that was not the Duke. But in fact Jim. Even with the mask that hid his face well, she knew it was him and was visibly startled as she nearly dropped the glass he offered.

"What are you doing here?" She says as she sets down her glass, and he tries not to be distracted by the breathlessness of her voice.

"Am I not supposed to be? I was in fact invited." Suddenly a bit defensive at her obvious fear of being caught with him.

"You know what I mean."

"I wanted to talk to you." He concedes.

"We have nothing to talk about. Excuse me, the Duke is looking for me." She gathers her skirts, preparing to leave.

"Damn the Duke." Jim says quietly and his hand darts out from his pockets. Grasping her hand firmly he pulls her out onto the nearest balcony. Immediately he's distracted by her gasp, and the traces of pain that fringed her otherwise indifferent exterior.

He loosens his hand seeing and feeling the red splotches on his white glove. Something creeps into his heart, making his brow furrow and his mouth curve into a frown. His grip moves down to her wrist, making her struggle not only pathetic but pointless. Jim peels the wet satin from one of her hands. His throat tightens and his heart falls at the sight, he doesn't even know where to begin.

It looks as if someone had laid red strings across her palm, a dozen shallow cuts crisscrossing one another violently. He's about to ask who's done this to her, but the moment he looks at her he knows. The shame on her face as she refuses to look at him.

She'd done this to herself.

It feels like an eon of silence passes between them. As she bears the increasing weight of his gaze, the look there that tells her nothing at all. She jerks her hand back, and his own fall to his sides. "I'm not this person." She finally says, surprised that her voice doesn't tremble. Surprised that in the midst of this confession she isn't collapsing in tears. "I don't..."

"I know." Her head snaps to him, as if she'd forgotten he was there at all. Jim had taken a handkerchief from his pocket and was reaching for her again. As he cleans the cuts she can read the implications in his voice, he's changed too.

"We're ruining each other aren't we." His gaze meets her suddenly, his brow furrowing in a small kind of resentment. He lifts one of his hands to her cheek, thumb caressing for only a moment before she slips away again. Looking around almost skittishly.

"Don't worry, no one saw us." He says, his tone gloomy as he continues cleaning the cuts. Guilt creeps in on her, albeit fleetingly, once she remembers that he hadn't taken back what he'd said earlier. She could still feel their vibrant sting every time she recalled them.

"I won't feel guilty. Not after-" She wants to stand her ground but he interrupts before she can finish.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" She says, clearly caught off guard. In the short time she'd known him, he'd never been one to admit he was wrong willingly.

"I'm sorry." He repeats softly, pinning her with his gaze- trying to make her feel the sincerity of those simply words. And for a moment she ants to forgive him, she wants to fling herself into his arms and forget everything that threatens to tear them apart. Including themselves. But that presence at the back of her mind, the kind that guides her more rational decisions, replays the scenes before her. All the hurtful things he'd ever done and said, how many times would she forgive before she realized he couldn't change.

"You can't do that." She whispers, taking back her hand and pulling the gloves back on.

"Do what?" He can feel his anger rising up again, something about her brings out the fighter in him. Especially when she insists on staying angry with him.

She opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Melody, is everything alright?" She turns quickly to see the Duke standing behind her, a glass in hand. She sputters for a moment, feeling as if she'd suddenly been caught with Jim in a compromising predicament, though they'd only been merely speaking.

"Y-yes, I'm fine." He hands her the glass, eyeing her carefully for fear she might actually faint. Though Melody had never been the type for fainting spells as far as he'd known her. She takes a sip and a deep breath before thanking him. And then as if he'd suddenly realized Jim was there at all he turns to him, and introduces himself as it seemed Melody had forgotten him as well.

"I am Mr. Hanley of Paniear."

"Hawkins." Jim offers curtly after a moment, his distaste for the Duke blatantly evident.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Hawkins. Would you please excuse us?"

"Actually, we were kind of in the middle of something." He chances a look at her and sees the desperate look there, begging him to not make a scene. And so yields. "But it can wait." Jim watches almost desperately as she is steered away into the throng of people. Disappearing into their vast chaos.

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**A/N: I did not intend to make this chapter so long but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume you guys don't mind. Anywho, as always I hope you enjoyed, R&R is always a wonderful thing. Except for flaming, I'm sensitive so please be kind. I feel like my skills are slipping and things feel scattered lately when I write. let me know if you're getting that effect so I can remedy it. Again, thanks for stopping by!**


	12. Chapter 12

It takes everything she has to not to look back at Jim. To dig her own grave by seeing the hurt and wounded expression she knows has taken place in his features. If she does she knows she'll crumble, and where would that leave them all? Melody held so many decisions, each one with it's own consequences- she could hardly bare to even acknowledge them.

What a mess this was, and she'd made it all with her own hands. She knows she can't place all the blame on Jim, though it would be easier to pretend.

"That gentleman, Hawkins, who is he?" Hanley's voice draws her back to the cold surface of reality and he lifts her hand to hook through his arm gently as he leads her around the room. Like a wife but perhaps what is so off-putting is that she feels more like a child as he does so.

She opens her mouth to speak and it only takes a moment to catch herself before she can call him by his given name out loud, a ridiculous kind of informality that betrayed- however subtly- just how intimate she had been with this other man. A blush creeps along her skin at the vivid memories, impossible to staunch. "Mr. Hawkins," His name as a title feels foreign and she rejects the way it puts space between them in her mind, in her heart, "is a ship captain. He has brought a foreign dignitary here to discuss some affairs with my father."

"He seems to have upset you sincerely."

Melody hesitates for a moment before trying to dissuade the Duke to another avenue of conversation. Her relationship with Jim or lack thereof is not something she wants to explain let alone reveal to the Duke. "No, not at all. We are merely argumentative friends. I'll probably have forgiven him by morning." His senses in conversation are keen in someways as he catches the way she bristles at speaking of this man, this so-called friend. And so he changes the subject. It is perhaps this is yet another way that he would be the better choice than Jim.

"Are you aware of the nature of these affairs?" He isn't needling, he's just keeping the conversation afloat. He was like this when they first met as well, somehow always uncomfortable with silence.

The familiarity of how awkward he could be has the corners of her mouth faintly tugging upward unconsciously. "Mr. Hanley when have you ever known me to be concerned with the politics that governs my father's life and estate."

"Never." He admits kindly. "Although in truth, tonight it has become a great fear of mine that I do not know you well at all."

"What do you mean?" She asks, suddenly afraid of what he might know. What he might be thinking.

"The incandescent woman who glided down those steps tonight is not the young girl I first met. She carries herself differently, as though she knows now the power she holds over men. Tell me, where did she come from?"

Tinged with suddenly grim and darkness she wants to tell him that the woman he thinks he sees in her isn't real, she isn't anything at all anymore... "Ask me to dance."

"Pardon me?" The Duke asks, obviously confused by her forwardness.

"Ask me to dance." She says again, eyes holding him steady. Trying to prove something to herself, that she can feel for this man. This man who might be her husband someday, this man who isn't Jim.

"I think your still a bit lightheaded." His worry and concern are touching, and maybe that's what should matter to her more than want for touch or passion. But they sink her heart all the same as he lowers her into a nearby seat beside several ladies of her own age. At her side they giggle and laugh and whisper secretly to one another behind lace fans and satin gloves, like colorful chirping little birds. They try to discreetly eye the Duke as he takes a seat beside her, though they are thinly veiled and thus futile.

Melody turns to him as well, examining him as he stares out to the dance floor and throng of elegant people. He is handsome. And of good fortune and name, they had every cause to swoon over him. So why couldn't she? Why didn't her body react to him the way it did to Jim. Why didn't she get butterflies at the very sight of him, why doesn't heart leap nearly from her chest when he looks at her like he loves her- wants her? Why doesn't she dream of the sound of his voice, or the touch of his skin to hers?

She sees Jim, making his way toward them, and meets his gaze squarely. Her heart does that leaping thing and she gets fidgety under the intensity of his stare. Waiting anxiously for him to cross what feels like vast miles between them. Wondering what he plans to do, what he might say. She wants to be angry with him, but she can't deny that being without him is incredibly painful. That her heart is frantically trying to leap from her chest and toward him, desperate to be close again.

When he finally stops before her, he bows and says simply- holding his hand out to her all the while. "May I have this dance?"

It takes all her willpower to not leap out of her seat, instead she eyes the Duke for a moment. But strangely his eyes are fixed stoically on Jim. It's an awkward moment in which each of them is staring after the other- all dependent on her answer. Feeling the moment slip with her silence, Jim carefully takes her hand in his and leads her out into the center of the room.

When they're finally away from Hanley and the preening birds Jim's confidence melts away almost rapidly. "I'm actually not sure how this goes." He admits when they're finally facing each other, lost in the see of people. And strangely it is the first time of the night that they've truly been alone. None around them pays them any heed or listens to how they speak in hushed tones to one another.

"Right hand here." Melody takes his right hand and places it high on her torso, he can feel the stiffness beneath the fabric- a corset. "The other in mine." And she raises their joined hands as the music begins.

He can handle the footwork from here, so long as neither of them tries anything fancy. "I can't believe you're still wearing that thing." Emphasizing his statement by pressing the pad of his thumb over the boning in the garment.

"You didn't have to do this."

"No, I... I love to dance. Can't you tell?" Its a poor choice of words as that moment they turn and he stumbles a bit over his own feet. She doesn't fight the faint smile that tilts her lips, what harm could it do? It didn't change the fact that she was still angry with him. Something she keeps forgetting when he's around, because she'd rather pretend it hadn't happened at all. Instead, she digs her heels into staying angry because ironically it's the only thing she can do to make relatively rational decisions.

"You said you're sorry and it's enough." A lie, but perhaps its something they both need to believe. "We should just cut here, stop pretending like this stands a chance."

He stiffens noticeably and something clouds his eyes that she can't quite face. "I'm sorry. If I could take it back I would, I just..."

"I know."

"No, no you don't." He says, suddenly very serious, the conviction in his eyes undeniable as he tugs her body subtly closer to his. "I won't stop fighting for you."

"Is that what you're doing?" Melody asks, her voice and expression blatantly mocking him. She tenses beneath his hands and he suddenly wishes they could have this out more privately. As if equally aware of this as well, Melody leans closer in and lowers her voice as she continues. "I wasn't aware that 'prostitute' and 'spoiled brat' were terms of endearment."

"I didn't mean them." Jim wants to make her see what he is constantly having trouble putting into words. "I was just angry. And besides you're the one who's with me one moment, and then the next talking about _marrying_ someone else. _Spending your life_ with someone else. How did you think I was going to react?" But if he's honest with himself, he'd admit that being self-destructive and moving his share of the blame onto someone else is much easier.

"Would you rather I lie to you?" Her tone is serious and her eyes peer up at him, forcing an answer he's reluctant to give. "Is that what you want?" No answer, and so she presses still. Tilting him precariously over the precipice of his own self-control. "Is it?"

"What _I want_?" He snaps with a mocking laugh, at his own circumstance and cruel irony of everything around him. "You want to know _what I want_?" His control slipping, but it's increasingly difficult when she needles him like that. "What I want is for none of this to be happening... but it is. What I want is for all this to not be so fucking complicated and difficult, but it is. It is, and I'm just grasping at straws here."

"So uncomplicate things."

He knows what she means and it kills him how easy the suggestion comes from her. "Is it really that simple for you?" She turns away, refusing to look at him. "Is it really so simply to just walk away?" Still she doesn't answer, and as always he doesn't need her to. He knows she cares for him, loves him. She said so herself, the memory forever etched into his memory. "I love you." He begins again. "I will find a way for this to work, I will. Because I know that I'll never love anyone the way that I love you."

"You can't possibly know that." Melody says, trying to dissuade him, though she knows the words are true of herself. The hypocrisy making her own thoughts bitter and vile.

"I do." The conviction in him unnerves her, breaks her resolve a little. "I know that there will never be anyone for you but me."

"You're very arrogant. I hate that." She mumbles, still trying to pick a fight.

"No, I'm confident. Because in these past weeks I've come to know you. I know you love me. And you love that about me, because I know I want you for you and nothing else. You can't say the same for that prancing daisy of yours or any other that came before him."

"I don't love you." And it comes out so pathetic and wilting that it doesn't even matter that she uttered the wounding words at all.

"You can't make me not love you, you know. It's there," Jim presses their joined hands to the spot where his heart is, beating firm and strong. "Immutable." The music stops and he steps away. Proper as any other man in the room he departs with a bow. It's doesn't take more than a moment for the Duke to catch her up in his arms for the next dance. Spinning her beautifully-lifeless around the room. They do not speak but her mind is rife with a million thoughts. Though few are for the Duke.

She spends the rest of the night in the Duke's arms, and after their dance she doesn't see Jim again. Though it doesn't keep her gaze from glazing over the crowd often enough, searching for him. Why, she can't say. Can't even begin to explain, why it is that she can't let him go.

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A/N: I know this is incredibly short, I just feel so bad for not having updated. Anyways, as always, leave your thoughts in a review. Be kind!

P.S.: Sorry if anyone gets a double update on this chapter I forgot to thank everyone for their kind reviews in the previous chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning she wipes sleep from her eyes as Alice brushes the tangles from the previous nights curls and tells Melody the plans of the day. It turns out her parents have invited the Duke to stay with them for several days before allowing him to retire to his own modest estate nearby. She listens as Alice explains that, lest Melody think otherwise, she is expected to spend time with the Duke. If he is to ever propose she must make haste. Seduce him, so-to-speak, as had been expected from the beginning.

"I don't see what the rush is, it's not as if my parents are pulling out walking canes or anything." She says glumly while staring into a cup of warm tea grasped firmly between her cold hands. She closes her eyes despite the constant dejected feeling and tries to get lost on the sleepy relaxed feeling of Alice's hands combing through her tresses and easing away all the tension from the night before.

"Mistress, time is of the essence, because while you have been born to royalty- he has not. It will take much time to prepare the Duke for a role that even your own father spent more than half his life being instructed for. Even _you_ must learn things to become a queen that you have yet learned."

Though the words are true, Melody mentally pushes them away, wanting to forget their merit or inevitability. She doesn't need anymore weight on her shoulders and yet people keep unconsciously pushing more and more on anyway.

"What I wouldn't give..." Melody whispers sadly, "to be young again. To not care so much..."

Alice laughs as if Melody had intended to be funny, though her maid could not have been more wrong. "Oh but mistress, you _are_ young."

Her eyes drift open lazily, examining her own reflection. Dark circles beneath her eyes. A foreign paleness to her skin. All laugh lines nowhere to be found. "No, I'm not." She says quietly after Alice had set the brush back down and turned to the wardrobe to retrieve a dress for the day.

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Jim watches from the bow of his ship, telescope in hand, as two figures walk aimlessly across the grounds at the front of the castle. They talk cordially, laugh every now and then. Sometimes the man takes her hand, slipping it through the loop of his arm. Twice she has discreetly slipped out of his grasp, only to be caught again. Jim has half a mind to go over there and help the Duke to catch the hint.

If it only weren't for the subtle sadness of her stance, the tiredness of her movements- he doesn't want to hurt her anymore than he already has. So he keeps himself firmly planted, though it admittedly takes effort. He allows himself only the telescope, just to make sure the other man doesn't try anything. Ready to leap to her rescue should she need him. Though he knows the Duke is much more gentlemanly then he himself, which is something he'll never admit aloud- and so has very little to worry about.

"Spying on royals in some provinces would be considered a form of treason." The voice drifts on the wind to him, confident and womanly- a lifetime of an indiscernible but innate grace.

Jim lowers the scope carefully, eyes zoning instead on the owner of the voice. He's a little shocked to say the least. There, with Thomas standing a few feet behind her almost warily, is the Queen herself- Melody's mother. She wears a heavy green cloak, her bright raid hair pinned back in a prim and proper sort of way. Her very stance commands attention, not because of beauty but confidence. He remembers the stories Melody told him and he can see it written in every crevice of the woman before him now.

When he doesn't answer she says instead, "I've come to speak with you _privately_, Mr. Hawkins."

Jim takes a moment, examining her as no real physical threat, before nodding to Thomas silently who in turn leaves to disappear below deck. "Your Highness, you have my attention." He says finally. From when he first arrived Jim had been solely interested in the woman that now stood before him, he'd been anxious to meet her. But this was in truth the first time they had truly spoken and he had obviously found something in her daughter that caught his attention and interest on a more deeper level than conquest. Though through all this Jim can't help his feelings of suspicion. What this woman may or may not know, how she might react and what power she wielded over himself if he crossed her somehow by being with Melody.

Ariel lowers the hood of her cloak, welcoming the light breeze familiarly and subconsciously. "What ever this thing between you and Melody is, it ends now."

She's blunt as she holds him with her icy blue gaze, taking in his surprised expression. There's nothing teasing about her tone and her words still have him frozen for a moment. "How did you know?" He asks, once he's regained his composure.

"Did you think you were discreet?" She steps closer, scrutinizing this boy who could possibly ruin everything she thought her daughter deserved. "I saw you at the ball last night, and once before. Meeting one another beyond the sand dunes. She left in tears."

"I apologized." He says simply and with a tinge of anger at the older woman. He doesn't want her to hate him but for the sole reason that she means so much to Melody, a part of him wants her to accept him. But her controlling nature is gnawing at his edges.

"Doesn't matter now." She says nonchalantly, as though that is the end of it.

"Does she think so?" Jim retorts, thinking of the strong-willed girl he met that first day. "Does it matter to you what she wants?"

"Melody is still a child, she doesn't know what she wants let alone what she needs." It's been a longer time since anyone has spoken so candidly to her, as a princess or a queen. His words and defiance bristle her anger. "You're dangerous, an adventurer, different from everything she's ever known. I understand how that can attract her, but you are not good for her."

"With all do respect, I think I'll let her be the judge of that." He says, trying strongly to not lose his temper.

"The Duke is prepared for the life of a king. He is a good and kind man-"

"I love her," Jim interrupts. "and she loves me, I know she does." At this she says nothing and so he presses further. "She told me about you, and the King. How you fell in love. You wouldn't let your father decide your life for you, how is this any different? Wouldn't you want those same freedoms for your own daughter."

"He and I were of the same standing. I was always royalty and so was he. We knew what we were walking into."

"You must not think very much of her intelligence since she's older now than you were then." He says a little bitingly. Frustrated, Ariel pulls up her hood and turns to leave, having lost her sense of defiance and fight over the years.

"Your not good enough for her." She says to him across the deck.

"I know." He says before she can turn away again. Jim doesn't catch her reaction, but if he had would have seen genuine surprise. Enough to give him hope that maybe their chances were not so bleak after all. He watches as she is led by a guard back across the shore and into the castle. He notes that Melody and the Duke are no longer in sight, having disappeared in the moments he'd been confronted by the Queen.

"It's not everyday you get visited by royalty." Thomas says as he approaches a solemn looking Jim. "What was all that about?"

"Just keeping me in my place is all." He mutters as he pulls his jacket from the railing and onto his shoulders, distantly noticing the encroaching clouds. Signaling rain and harsh winds, not that he cared. Not that it mattered anymore. "I'm going for a walk." Jim leaves, with all the thoughts rolling chaotically through his mind and big decisions tumbling precariously between his hands.

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The roses that grow on the beach are much sturdier than those she sees in town, she often thinks stubborn is a better description. They grow in massive wild tangles, creeping across the lawn and up the castle walls like weeds. She's often wondered why none of the gardeners have gone to trim them.

"The roses are becoming a bit of an eyesore. They've grown so rampantly." Melody finds that she agrees with the Duke as they walk side-by-side through the gardens.

"The gardeners must be waiting for some reason, what I don't know."

"Perhaps, this is why neither of us is a gardner."

"Absolutely, nothing to due with duty at all." Melody jokes, and they exchange smiles. She has to admit that things flow easy between them sometimes, afterwards is when she thinks it wouldn't be so bad having everyday this way. Still and simple and mundane.

"I must confess," Hanley begins after a few moments of placid silence, "that since our last parting I have missed you." He waits before continuing, staring off ahead- too nervous to watch her reaction as the well practiced words fall from his lips. "When I last came I know I met with disappointment when I made no offer of marriage to you as many others have before me. I had every intention of doing so, but it seemed then that you were not ready to become a wife. To run a household and be my supporter in my future endeavors as a man and husband."

He takes a deep breath before continuing, turning to watch her as she stares into the choking mass of roses. "But last night at the ball, you had blossomed into a radiant young woman. I knew the moment I saw you descending those stairs I wanted you to become my wife... that you were ready." The Duke drops gallantly to one knee, taking her cold and shaky hand into his. "Dear sweet Melody, will you become my wife?"

Melody remembers when she first encountered Morgana, her adventure. When she fell from enchanted spines of ice, a slow plummet in her minds eye. That split second when she fell, those quick moments as the wind was knocked from her lungs on impact. It was like drowning without water, clawing to the surface to pull in sweet life-giving air. That terror that set her heart racing in the worst sort of way, tearing tears from her eyes.

She knew this was coming. She herself said how inevitable it was, she'd never had any doubt that he would propose, and that she should say yes. She knew she _had _to say yes... but in those moments nothing could have forced the words past her lips. To breathe them to life, to make a choice once and for all. She doesn't see the roses, the grey skies twisting and curling above, not Hanley or his anxious stance.

All she can see Jim's face. His beautiful eyes, looking at her like he loved her. His voice confirming the feeling, what she always knew- deep down- to be more true that the sun or stars.

It's a loud clap of thunder that knocks them both from the silence. Hanley exchanges his gaze between her shocked face and the skies. "Perhaps, you did not expect this as I had presumed. I will leave you to decide in private..." He presses a kiss to her hand after standing. "We should go inside."

"I need a moment... please." She says distractedly and breathless, still staring at the ground- the roses- unable to shake another mans image from her mind.

Hanley leaves at her request.

Melody doesn't realize she's running until the rain has her thoroughly soaked and is stinging her skin as she runs against it. Her shoes snag in the muddy sand, she leaves them behind without a second thought. Her body taking over since her mind cannot focus on anything more than Hanley's proposal, Jim's face and simply breathing. Rocks tear at the foot of her stockings and hem of the heavy dress drenched in rain water, giving way to the elements as she flees.

She doesn't even focus on where she's going until she finds him.

Doesn't even realize that she was searching for a haven, for him. Not until her eyes recognize his defeated form being beaten down by the rain as he stares into a familiar hole in the ground, and her own shoulders slump. Relaxing as if one of her many burdens has been lifted.

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As if sensing her presence above the pounding rain and clapping thunder, he turns slowly around to see Melody standing there watching him almost desperately. She's thoroughly soaked. Her hair hangs in wet tangles like the skirts of her dress. She's still unknowingly clutching the folds up and he can see that her shoes are gone and the stockings are in taters.

Even now, looking like a drowned cat, his breath is taken. Even now she is still the most beautiful thing he knows he's ever seen.

Minutes pass like days as they stare at one another through the thick sheets of rain. Until finally, tears mixing with the rain, she yells to him, "Why do you love me?"

He doesn't question her sanity, or try to fight her in any way. Jim has wondered himself that same question many times, a definitive answer he could never quite form. But now he figures she deserves to know more than anyone after all he's put her through, and so he'll try his best to give her what she's decided she needs to know. As truthful as possible. Because it's the least he can do, and more than anything he wants her to know too. "You're a pain in my ass..." He yells back over the sound of the storm around them. "I fight more with you than anyone I've ever met in all my life. You push my buttons every chance you get..." He takes a step closer, watching her face as she hears every word. "You're stubborn and clumsy, crazy and... on a daily basis you drive me up the fucking wall. You make me think about the consequences of my actions... and you made me care again after years of falling back on my indifference." He inches even closer until there's only a few feet between them. "When I'm with you, sometimes the world seems more beautiful than I ever thought it could be. And because good or bad, no matter how this ends... I wouldn't give back even a minute with you, because I love you. No matter how you deny it to yourself. I'll never care for anyone the way I care for you, the way I love you."

A sob escapes her throat as tears pour freely over her cheeks. She'd hoped, that he'd break her heart. That he'd say all the wrong things. So it would be easy for her to run back to Hanley and never look back. Instead, Jim said all the right things. He didn't try to flatter her on her beauty or manners, he told her how he loved her. Honestly, and she can't deny it anymore. That she feels the same, and nothing could ever change that. They're bonded now and forever inseparable. "I can't do it." She says finally, the sobs taking over. "I can't marry him."

It's the only nudge Jim needs. He runs forward, catching her small form in his arms. Since the night they spent together, he's missed this. To the point where he can hardly sleep, because her absence- and the fear of losing her altogether- tore a hole through his chest. Nothing but simply holding her, having her love him back, could fill it. His arms tighten around her as he buries his face in her shoulder, inhaling and forgetting where he ends and she begins. Because it's simple moments like these, that will last him a lifetime.

If she changes her mind tomorrow or stays with him, it doesn't matter. For now, simply being this close is enough.

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**A/N: Hope you guys liked it, i'm trying to write as much as possible now before classes start up again. Thanks for reading and everyone who has review previous chapters, you have no idea what it means to me to know you guys liked this story.**


	14. Chapter 14

Somehow they make it back to his ship, stumbling across the ground as they alternate between running and kissing. Getting below deck is probably the hardest part, the stairs proving too dangerous to venture down clumsily and aimlessly. Jim takes her hand, pulling her quickly along behind him. It doesn't take a moment until she has her back pressed to his door and her fingers twining in his wet hair that falls into his eyes. She thinks, silently to herself, she loves the way they do that. Every time right before he kisses her, his hair falls over his eyes. It's an image and a feeling that she sears into her memory, one the many small things she will forever keep with her.

They tumble over the threshold and Jim kicks the door closed haphazardly with a loud crack. In the back of her mind she prays that no one will come running to check on him. Melody is the first to take things a step further, tugging his sopping wet shirt over his head. Tell-tale drips scattering across the floor. His fingers find the row of buttons that line over her spine and pops them quickly from their catches, some nearly tear off but she can't bring herself to care even a little.

His quarters are small, as is his bed. Though she doesn't think he's ever in it enough to really care. She finds that she doesn't either as they lay on it together. The confined space has them constantly pressed together, she likes it- revels in it even.

His mouth is almost hypnotizing in the way he kisses her. His senses drugged and consumed only by the sensations they invoke in one another. This time is different than the last. She is not trying to prove anything and he is no longer trying to convince her of something. This time they take things slower, his hands holding hers as they come together.

When its over his muscles give out and he collapses on top of her. She strokes her fingers through his hair almost languidly as she feels her heart rate dropping back to normal- her lungs no longer gasping as if she'd run a hundred miles. They stay like that for awhile before falling asleep in one another's arms.

When she wakes again its to the sight of him. Laying on his side, head propped on his hand while the other traces patterns on her back soothingly. He was watching her sleep. They stare at each other for a few moments when she gives a small laugh and looks away. Burying her face into her pillow she says, her voice muffled, "Stop staring at me."

"Why?" She won't look up because the smile she knows is on his face would hypnotize her and keep her from thinking straight.

"Because it makes anxious, and I'll start giggling like an idiot."

"You blush too." He leans in close, his breath tickling the sensitive spot just below her ear. "I like that."

"You would." She comes out from hiding, feeling brave enough again to be scrutinized in the candle light. Melody tugs the sheets over herself more modestly as she moves to lay on her back and doesn't miss the way he rolls his eyes and smiles. She knows what his devious mind is thinking, that he's already seen every inch of her and now there is no need to hide. However, they both know old habits die hard and so neither says a word.

Jim shifts toward her again, saying in that low voice he has no idea has any effect on her, "It's your turn, why do you love me?"

Her eyes drift off to space. She's thought about it many times, albeit unwittingly. Little things she notices when she's with the duke or when her mind simply wanders. She never has to think about why she loves him when she's actually with him, only that she _feels_ it to the very core of her being. Suddenly Melody sits up and carefully takes his hand that's closest to her, tilting the palm toward the sky like the time they went swimming together. She focuses on the lines there, too shy to watch him as she answers him.

"All my life, I've felt like I've just been... drifting along with everyone else. There's actually a lot of pressure to being a princess, sometimes it feels like too much." She traces the longest line, a gypsy she met once very long ago told her they called it a life line and how to read it. "When I'm with you... I feel safe. Like I'm not gonna collapse into a million pieces. It's like being gone for decades and finally coming home. You're smarter than you let on, it's probably the only thing you're not arrogant about." She follows the curve that goes from below his smallest finger and up between his middle and index fingers. "Your mother means a lot to you. When you talk about her I can tell how much you respect her. Your friends too, I wish I could meet them..."

She stays on his heart line, tracing it over and over again as if she were searching for herself in it along with the small mass of people she knows are there forever. "You don't give up easily, your passionate. And your reckless and careless..."

"Those last few don't sound too good."

"You called me a pain in the ass." She bites back, and then softening adds. "I love your flaws too."

"Anything else."

She looks up at him seriously, and for a moment he's worried until she says, "And you are really really good in bed." He laughs as he pounces on her capturing her laughing mouth with his. She falls into the kiss as always, every time feeling like the first somehow. The movement of his lips and body against her igniting the butterflies in the pit of her stomach to vibrant fluttering life.

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A rapid knocking on the door is what pulls them from sleep a second time. Jim is already crawling over her and putting on his pants when she is finally fully awake. "Who is it?" Jim calls through the door cautiously.

"It's me." Thomas' familiar smothered voice calls through the heavy material of the door.

"What is it?" Jim asks after opening the door a crack, Melody crawling to hide in the far corner swathed in the bed sheets, as he simultaneously tugs his shirt onto his shoulders.

"They're searching for her, the princess. I know she's in there." She grabs her dress off the floor and nods at Jim.

"Give me a minute." Jim helps her with the dress, even the corset though he doesn't even try to tighten it like she's used to. She pulls her hair over her shoulder as he fastens the tiny row of buttons. Leaving at least three open where the buttons has disappeared, hiding in the tiny crevices of his floor. She nods to him again, and Jim let's Thomas into the room.

He just stares at them both in disbelief for a few moments before finally settling on Jim, giving him a firm shove against Jim's shoulder- setting him back a few steps. "How could you be so stupid?"

"It's not like I planned this." Jim looks ready for a fight as does Thomas. Melody has to fight the urge to step between them, something about Thomas tells her intuition that he won't turn his back on his best friend. He proves her right when he settles back on his heels calmly.

"What are we going to do about this?" Jim moves past Thomas to Melody's side, taking her hand protectively in his.

He lifts her chin, looking carefully into her eyes. "I have to take you back, we can fix everything. I just need a chance to talk to them."

It takes her a moment to consider their options. Running would only make them look more guilty than they actually were. But facing her parents judgement, she didn't have clue what they might say or do. It felt too unpredictable. But she knew her father, no one could ever call him cruel or unjust. She trusted him... "Okay."

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Getting past the castle's doors proves more difficult than they had planned. Melody had assumed the guards would listen to her, but Hanley was among them and ordered Jim be arrested the moment they saw him. She had little authority, a weak minded girl.

She feels like screaming when they start dragging Jim away. It is Thomas who grabs her arm from behind, pulling her back from the fray and saying low in her ear, "Fighting with the guards won't do any good. You must speak with the king on his behalf."

"I'll be fine." Jim says in agreement, "I know you can do it." She shakes her head in agreement, closing her eyes as she pulls him into her arms one last time. When they're gone Hanley attempts to take her hand in his but she jerks away as if he'd burned her. She ignores the look of confusion on his face before running as fast as her feet can carry up the pantheon of staircases to her father's study where she knows he is no doubt waiting.

Her lungs are on fire and her heart is racing. She doesn't even realize Thomas is behind her, protecting her back, until she hears him stumbling over the few steps below her. "Come on." She urges, pulling him back onto his feet after a few minutes to catch his breath.

"Okay, I'm right behind you. Go on." He smiles and nudges her ahead of him. "Time to be the heroine." She smiles back assuringly, letting him know how much his words and presence means to her. She continues up the steps and it isn't long before she can see the tall white doors beyond the long stretch of hallway.

Throwing them open happens more dramatically than she intends but at least she has her father's attention from the moment she enters and that's all that matters. She opens her mouth to speak, before she ca lose her nerve. But it takes a grand total of five seconds for her mother to charge across the room toward, eyes blazing and mouth set in a firm line. "Where have you been?" Ariel doesn't even notice that Thomas is there as well, she just keeps yelling at Melody. "Were you with him? Were you with that boy?"

"What boy?" Her father asks, his back straightening, and for the first time Melody can see the dark bruise like circles under his eyes and generally disheveled appearance. It was clear he'd been up for hours, making himself sick with worry. _I'm a terrible person,_ she thinks before she can look away. Though it's yet another thing she knows she has to set aside for the moment, along with her guilt at making him so.

"How do you know about Jim?" She asks breathlessly. Eyeing her mother very carefully as she steps away from her.

"How could I not?" Ariel practically shouts. "You were about as careful as a storm!"

"Who is Jim?" Eric demands rising to his feet.

"Hawkins." Her mother throws back exasperatedly, massaging her temples with her long delicate fingers.

"_Captain_ Hawkins?" Her father asks again surprised, this time looking at Melody and her alone.

"Yes." She answers, her voice quiet and sad. He falls back on his chair, stunned eyes staring at nothing but air. Though she knows full well the tone of his thoughts.

"I thought you had chosen the Duke?"

"I had." Her tone clearly regretful, and perhaps a bit ashamed though unwarranted. "Because I thought I had to, I thought I could live that decision but I can't."

"Melody," Ariel says as she takes her by the shoulders, eyeing her carefully before Eric could say anything else. "I know things with Jim are exciting and dangerous, but that's not love. It's infatuation-"

"He loves me. The way that you're supposed to love someone, whether they want you to or not."

"He won't stick around, he's not the type." Her mother says before grasping Melody's shoulders tighter. "Remember the last time you didn't listen to me, how wrong things went?" The words felt like a slap in the face, stinging her heart like the crack of a whip against fragile skin. She steps back from her mother, a look of pure pain darkening her. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"By breaking me down? By trying to convince me that I'm not worth staying around for?"

"You know I don't mean it like that-"

"It's beside the point." She's putting her foot down, ending this inane argument before turning to her father. Facing him head on a tall. "I don't come here to argue about me. I came here for him, he didn't kidnap me. I went with him because I love him. I... I won't marry Hanley, I can't."

She's afraid, maybe that makes her childish but what daughter isn't the slightest bit afraid of disappointing her parents? Her father falls back in his seat, as if he's being racked with waves of information he wasn't prepared for, isn't sure he can fully process.

"I suppose there isn't much I can say to change your mind?"

"Not really... no." The words come out more firmly than she expects and for a moment it feels like she standing on that precipice again. Waiting to be pulled back or pushed off.

"You're like your mother in that way." He twists his fingers before him and says, staring intently at the carved wood of his desk, "Very well, the guards are on orders to release Captain Hawkins-" As if on cue a guard immediately breezes past Thomas and out the doors and Melody takes a deep breath, feeling a _however_ coming on. "But this... informality. I won't have it with my daughter. I'm not saying you have to be married or that you have to stop seeing him, but there will be no more sneaking out at night or leaving without informing either your mother or myself. Am I understood?"

Relief, it swarms through her every nerve as she steps behind the desk and pulls her arms around her father. Whispering a quiet 'thank you' before making to leave. She doesn't have to think about it, suddenly she's running and nothing has ever felt this wonderful before.

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**A/N: Okay well let's skip the part where I'm a liar who really shouldn't make you guys any promises because my life always has knack for getting hectic when it's least convenient. That and I'm negligent, I already had to put another story on temporary hiatus cause I just can't get inspired enough to write something I think is good enough for you guys. But i hope you liked it, reviews are always appreciate. I was in a bit of a rush to post this so forgive any spelling errors! I'll update when I can, again I'm really really sorry for the long wait.**


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: A short update but this a transition chapter and I realize the wait has been long enough. So without any more pretenses, except to thank those who reviewed recently- definitely a push of inspiration at the right moment, here you go. :)

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Her smiling face is enough to send his heart soaring out of his chest with relief. She pulls the keys from one guard and unlocks the door herself. They don't say anything. She just takes his hands and leads him out of the dungeons, guards flanking both sides of them. Though instead of releasing them as he expects, and it seems Melody as well, the guards instead usher them both past the entrance. Melody is the one to demand information, something each of them knows they cannot deny her.

"The King has commanded an audience with Captain Hawkins." One says, like a soulless machine.

"Why?" She persists.

"Forgive me princess, but he did not convey such familiarities with us. We only have our orders."

And so they go, oddly resigned. Knowing they can't fight this, though it doesn't keep Melody from occasionally muttering harsh words under her breath. To say that the arduous trek up the long winding staircase was intimidating would have been the biggest understatement of Jim's life. Even higher up than the times he told his mother his adventure to treasure plant had simply been 'enlightening'. Though in all truth he'd borrowed that bit from Delbert. But as the door loomed ever closer, Melody's hand gripped tightly in his own, all these thoughts running through his mind seemed superfluous. He was about to meet her father... Never in all his life had he gotten so far enough into relationship territory to meet a girl's father. And even now, through every thing he'd gone through with Mel the step itself still felt premature.

Though that could have been the fear talking.

The castle guards are there to open the heavy double doors almost dramatically, as if judgement were about to be passed on him and in fact it was. The room itself was much less intimidating, cozy in retrospect. Truthfully he'd expected more grandeur. Gold furnishings or perhaps blood red carpets and a chandelier the size of his own ship.

In reality the floor and furnishings were of some warm dark wood. Probably the very same kind that grew along the coast just outside the window. Permeated by sea salt so that this room more particularly than any other smelled like the ocean. The King himself sat behind a large desk, its surface littered with maps and various knick-knacks. Books lined the walls behind him and a telescope sat aimlessly beside the window. It soothes his nerves greatly until the older man looks pointedly at the girl beside him- who was still clutching his hand- and says, "I'd like you to wait outside Melody."

Jim watches her bit her lip, as if she wants to argue, but instead Jim gives her hand a gentle squeeze to let her know he can handle it. Which in hindsight would seem funny since he hadn't been this scared when he'd faced an alien resembling a cross between a giant lobster and praying mantis. She leaves quietly just the same, only stopping to give her father a look he hadn't quite learned yet. It spoke something silent but understood between her and her father. Something he couldn't ever touch.

The doors shift closed behind her with a gentle thud. "Sit, please." Eric says, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. Jim does as asked, though with careful motions and a watchful eyes just in case the older man was not as forgiving as he seemed. For a minute that felt like a lifetime, the King simply stares at him with assessing eyes. Eric takes a deep breath before leaning back in his chair, which creaks softly in the silence and says "She's my only daughter. My only child... my only heir."

"I-" Jim begins to say, though he wasn't really sure what it was anyway, but is cut off by the King's careful voice.

"Do you have any idea how many times I've almost lost her?" Jim understands that the question is somewhat rhetorical and so only shakes his head 'no'. "Three times." He pauses, holding up three strong fingers for emphasis. "Once was enough. So you will have to understand why her mother and I are so careful with her. Why I, though I respect you as a Captain, do not trust you."

Jim nods knowingly and after a brief moment adds almost regretfully, "I wouldn't trust a guy like me either. If I were you."

"So it seems we are at an impasse." Eric says with a small laugh. Jim does too but mirthlessly and Eric knows it. Eric recognized a sad soul when he saw one, someone troubled and somewhat lost. "You're not like me." He says suddenly and Jim looks up at him with mild confusion. "You're not like me, Melody is like me. Sure she has some of her mother's dominant traits but she's like me. When I was her age, I was willing to marry someone I didn't love. My father already past, I was the only heir of an only heir. I knew the duties expected of me by my people, like Melody. It was by pure, and unbelievable, chance that I met her mother at that crossroad in my life. That she happened to be royalty, that she happened to be everything I didn't know I wanted until I met her... She was an adventurer you know, Ariel. Breaking rules, taking chances. Not the kind of person you tie down with a ring." He looked knowingly at Jim, whose eyes had focused on the swaying white curtains on the window. He never thought he'd be identifying with his biggest critic, that the woman who held herself so high and proper could have ever been like him, understood. "By all leaps and bounds she was just... so much it was blinding. Beautifully blinding."

Immediately Jim's mind went to Melody. What the King was saying about his wife, the way he talked about her, that was how Jim felt about Melody. "I know everyone's expecting me to get down on one knee and ask her... but that's not how I want it to go. I'd be lying if I said marriage was one hundred percent not in the cards, but we're not ready. I know its like one or the other here, marriage or 'get lost', but I just... don't ever want her to feel like marrying me- picking me- was a mistake. I know I love her but truthfully I think she's only part way there. I want her to really know me."

"How do you propose to do that?"

"I'd like your blessing to take her to see my life. Meet my friends, my mother."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Just because you guys are so wonderful taking the time to review, I thought I'd give you this update. Thank you guys again for the kind words, I'm really glad you guys are loving it. I was very nervous about going this way.

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He can't tell if the passive-one-brow-arched look on the Kings face is a good or a bad thing. Although Jim is already defending himself. Melody had told him vaguely how her parents had met. Ariel was sixteen, basically ran away and fell in love with someone her father definitely hadn't approved of. Melody is a year older and more than anything Jim is truthfully asking for permission.

"Okay."

Jim thinks he might get a heart attack from all this stress, but for the second time that day relief allows him to relax for a moment.

He begins to stand, so that he can go tell Mel the great news when Eric says suddenly, "But I have a few conditions..." Jim takes the hint and settles back into the chair, trying not to be too disheartened because honestly this is all more than he could have hoped for.

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Outside Melody is squished comically against the heavy wooden door, one ear pressed to its surface trying to decipher the conversation occurring on the other side. Though everything is so muffled she might as well be standing on the other side of the room. With an exasperated sigh she pushes herself away from the door in favor of pacing back and forth, hands crossed over her stomach. The longer this took the more nauseated she felt.

But before long one door was being pushed open slightly and Jim squeezed through it, closing it again behind him. His smile is the only thing that comforts her but she rushes into his arms regardless. "What happened? What did say?"

"I think what he said to me needs to say... between us. But more importantly I asked if you could come with me, to my home." He says, his face clear with excitement.

Melody however isn't. "No you didn't."

"Yeah, I did. I just asked him-"

"You didn't ask _me_."

"Yeah I know I was asking-"

"For _his_ permission to ask _me_?" She cuts him off, her anger evident. "I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions. My father doesn't own me." She shoves him off and slaps her hand against his chest, not really wanting to hurt him but still feeling somewhat infuriated. "I can't believe you asked for _permission_ to be with me."

The thudding sounds of her slaps against his jacket were interspersed with his mutterings of 'ouch!' and 'are you kidding me?'. "It wasn't like that." Jim says while blocking another blow.

"Then what was it like! Men trying to make my decisions for me, because thats how it sounds to me!" She says forcefully as she smacks him across the shoulder. But Jim is quick and grabs her wrists before she can hit him again.

"Maybe thats how it sounds but think about it Mel." Trying to make her calm down. "How scared they were when you didn't come home last night..."

"If you'd asked _me_, _I_ would have told them this time."

"And what if they said no?" She doesn't say anything because they both know what she would have done, she would have simply gone anyway. "And not just that, I mean. I put myself in his shoes, if it were me... I mean I would hope the guy would at least discuss it with me before just taking her away. Because it matters Mel," Jim emphasizes every word and points to the Kings study, "to him it matters." He lets her go as he sees her understanding. Turning his back to her he stares at the doors of the study again. "Maybe I was wrong. You and I both know I have no experience with good fathering skills, I was just trying to do this right." He combs his hands through his hair with a sigh.

After a moment she steps up behind him and quietly says, "You're right. I'm sorry." Melody lays her hand on his shoulder. "I forgot how all this might affect you."

He gives a small huff of laughter and says, with a sense of irony, "Your, father... he's a good man. I wish my father would have cared about me like that. Even just a little."

"I love you." She warps her arms around him, laying her face against his shoulder- where only minutes ago she'd been hitting him. "I care about you." He folds his hand around the one of hers that is laid across his chest.

"Does that mean you'll come with me?" She can't fight the smile that tilts on her lips, and he feels the tiny huff of laughter against his back. He twists around in her embrace to see her face to face.

"Yeah, I'll go with you." Suddenly Jim is smiling too and pulling her into a tight hug, her feet dangling as he lifts her up. She can't help laughing harder too, and it sounds like music to his ears. It reminds him of the day he met her, when he first heard her laugh. How for they'd come in just a couple of weeks.

She doesn't know what this all means for them, and for the first time that fact doesn't bother her. She's content to just be with him, to go somewhere new. To hopefully have an adventure with him.

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"Your dad has some conditions though." He says as they walk down the stairs of the castle, more calm this time and less heavy hearted.

"And what's that?" Melody asks cautiously, clearly suspicious of her well-intentioned father.

"We stay with my mother when we get there, separate rooms."

"Ah." Unsure how to feel about that, Melody thinks silently that she might be grateful. Being intimate with Jim was still something she was getting used to, she didn't want his mother to know. Suddenly Melody was very nervous if the famous Sara Hawkins, the only woman who would forever have a place in his heart, would even like Melody. Let alone deem her worthy of her one and only son.

"While aboard my ship I am to have Thomas act as an escort, it seems my best friend and your father have done some male bonding while you and I were sneaking around."

"Don't say it like that." She says blushing. He laughs and lets that subject fall.

"And to bring you back. Though I'm not sure how I feel about that one..." She stops and tugs his hand. Jim steps closer to her, brushing the loose strands of hair back from her suddenly pale face.

"Jim, how long would we be gone?"

"Well, the trip back is about six days, depending on the weather. Beyond that, we can stay as long as you like... is that okay?"

She doesn't want to say anything to that. Because setting a definite date to return came with the question of where they were going with this, and if that journey would be something they do together. Ending together. She didn't want to scare him away. So instead she looks up with a reassuring smile. "That's perfect." She leans her forehead against his. "There's just something I have to take care of first."

"Can I ask?"

"Don't worry, it won't change anything. I'm still going with you, there are just some things I have to do." He nods uncertainly, suddenly worried if this was right step or if he'd said something wrong. But its all washed away when she leans up on the tips of her toes and presses her mouth to his, kissing him in the way that just washed all thought from his mind and had him wrapping her tightly against him- afraid to let her go.

But he does, and she watches him as he walks back toward his ship until he's just a dot moving along the coast.

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Finding the Duke wasn't as difficult as she thought. She caught him as he was talking with his manservant outside the back of the castle where his things where being loaded into his very fine carriages.

"Ah, your highness." He says kindly when he sees her, bowing properly.

"You don't have to do that."

"Oh, but I do." He contradicts. "This may be the last time we see one another, I hope to leave only a good impression."

"So you know then?"

"It wasn't hard to see, in fact I suspected since the other night at the ball. He means something to you, its written all over you face." He tilts his head, as if reading her actual thoughts written across her face.

"I'm sorry... if it hurt you. I'm truly sorry."

"For falling in love?" He smiles, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Never, I should only be so lucky."

"Here I thought this was going to be ugly. Turns out I don't deserve you."

He frowns and takes a step toward her. "No not unworthy, we were just... ill-suited. Like pieces of a puzzle I suppose, same picture. We just weren't meant to be joined forever. Forcing it would have made us resentful."

"You are wonderful, Hanley." She steps forward, lifting her hand to his face and pressing a farewell kiss to his cheek. "I do hope you find your missing piece, she will be the luckiest girl."

He smiles graciously, bowing to kiss her hand and says, "Farewell, Melody."

She smiles and watches as he mounts his horse, riding off toward town where there is probably a room at an inn waiting for him. And then probably back off to his country, she truly did wish him the best. He turned out to be so gracious. Melody had meant it when she said she didn't deserve him. She'd gotten so many steps wrong and yet, thought it was horrible, she couldn't bring herself to regret it. Because it had all brought her here, with Jim. And maybe, possibly- if he wanted too, a happy ending.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Quick update! Painfully short and for that I'm sorry but well, here it is anyway.**

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Finding her mother proves a bit more difficult. In fact Melody stumbles upon her by accident after essentially having given up the search. Ariel stands at the edge of the ocean just beneath Melody's window, a familiar memory that harkened back to a time when they were still keeping secrets from one another. Ariel stands with her hands in the folds of her dress and bare feet in the water, eyes and soul closed off to anything but the sea.

"Mom?" It tumbles from her lips like the words of child, she usually called her 'mother'. Somehow one seemed too familiar and the other put them at opposite ends of a room.

Nonetheless Ariel looks up, startled, from her reverie. Melody can't help but shrink back into her own skin when Ariel's face falls for the briefest second. "Melody, what are you doing out here? Its dark and getting cold. You should go inside."

"You're out here." Melody points out with a bare undertone of defensiveness.

"Yes, but I'm an adult and you're-" Ariel says while slipping her wet feet back into silk slippers.

"A child?" Melody cuts her off with a clear look of incredulity, crossing her arms over her chest. "I haven't been a child for a long time mother..." And then she adds after a moment. "He's asked me to go with him." By the look on Ariel's face, Melody knows that she doesn't need to explain to her mother whom she was referring to.

Ariel shakes her head with a brief but condescending look and says, as if she hadn't heard the last bit at all, "You'll always be a child, Melody. Now stop pouting and lets go inside." Melody watches her mother breeze past her, her own anger building in her chest.

"Damnit, Mother!" She yells, spinning on her heel. "Stop doing this and just tell me why?"

Ariel stops mid-step, saying nothing at first. Finally she turns to face Melody and says, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I love him. I want to go with him. But you know I can't, not to spite you." Melody crosses the lawn to stand in front of her mother. "It's not fair to him, or to me." Still the Queen stands stoic, her eyes staring off at the disappearing horizon. "Just tell me what you have against this? Is it just him? Is it me?"

A look of surprise flickers across Ariels face at the last bit, and then it falters- as if realizing after everything she shouldn't be so surprised her own daughter would think something like that. "I'm afraid for you."

"You _were_me once." Melody says, pointing out there similar situations. "And you chose dad... Why won't you let me choose Jim?"

"Because Melody are situations aren't as similar as you think. Your father was..." She struggles for the words, her wide eyes searching the peeking stars. "He would never have hurt me."

"And you think _Jim_ hurt me?" Melody says incredulously, hardly believing her mother could think he was capable.

Ariel's face is sad, peering at Melody like she knew a secret. "Hasn't he?" And before Melody can argue she presses on. "Bruises and blood and broken bones... its brutish. Its how you break someone you hate. How we break the people we love is far worse..."

Melody looks away, tears threatening to break down. Her mother was right, though Melody was not prepared to admit it. She'd been on the receiving end of Jim's anger once, bearing the intangible scars her mother spoke. But she supposed she'd hurt Jim as well. Did that make it right? Of course not... but maybe they'd repaired that when they chose each other. Besides, could two people exist so tightly entwined and never hurt one another? "I was cruel too." she whispers, "but thats our past... I want a future with him. And yes sometimes we will fight and argue, but I know he loves me."

"Melody," Ariel steps toward her, placing her hands on Melody's shoulders. "I've never been able to keep you from the things you truly wanted. This is no different. I'll always worry about you. But I can't chain you here, not even with my disapproval. In this way we are similar. When we long for something it is because it is already apart of us, like a part of our soul that was split away before we were born. We'll spend all our lives reaching for it, anything less would breed misery and despair. And Melody, my darling girl, I would wish neither upon you."

"But you'll never approve."

Ariel pauses a moment, searching for the right words again. She brushes back a raven lock of Melody's hair, saying finally, "You and I, we're part of the ocean. And the sea, it is always changing." Melody knew it was as much as her mother could give, and for now it would be enough.

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"My chaperone is a crab." She says, testing the weight of the fact, deciding whether to burst out laughing or cry at the sheer insanity of it. She stares down at the tiny creature, standing dignified on the surface of her father's desk.

"Sebastian is willing, and small enough that he can be around at all times without being... despotic." Eric says. "Its a condition, not a request."

"Yes, sir." Melody says, smiling and holding her hand out. Sebastian, looking as though this were all so very beneath him, walked forward into her palm with so much pomp that were it not for his stature she might have been genuinely concerned.

"I will keep a close eye on her sire." Sebastian says, his accent heavy and wonderfully familiar.

Eric nods, having no doubt that the small creature would do his best to keep his word. "There **will** be separate sleeping arrangements. Jim has left us with a contraption for communication. I'll expect you to check in at least once a day."

"Once a week?" She needles.

"Three, final offer."

"Done." She says happily.

"My business with Herms is nearly done, Captain Hawkins has said they plan to depart within the week."

"I'll be ready."

"Captain Hawkins has also contacted his mother, and she's offered you a room at her inn. As far as money goes-"

"Dad?" Eric looks up at her expectantly.

"You can call him Jim." She says gently. A look crosses his face, that Melody could only describe as a kind of sadness.

"As far as money goes, Jim," It flows out awkwardly but Melody doesn't push. "has informed me that gold is valuable on their planet regardless of minting. He has also allowed you the use of a the safe in his quarters, I've asked Grimsby to see that your finances be placed there. I'll expect you to treat these funds wisely."

"Always."

"I'm going to let Ms. Hawkins set the curfew officially but I'd appreciate it if you let her know I'm comfortable with eleven."

"Twelve-thirty?"

"Eleven-thirty."

"Okay."

"No getting in trouble, please."

"I promise not to get caught."

"That's my girl." He says tonelessly, not looking up from his papers. "I know I don't need to tell you to be respectful of Ms. Hawkins, so I suppose thats it."

"One last thing." Melody walks around the large desk to wrap her arms around her father. "Thank you."

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"I have no idea what to pack."

"You could pack nothing and we could have a _very_good time." She meets his statement by throwing a corset at him. Which Jim then surreptitiously flung under the bed while Melody dug distractedly through the drawers of her wardrobe. "Just don't bring anything... you know, fancy. Just bring whatever's easy to get around in."

"So, what's it like there?"

Jim smiles, reclining back on her bed and tugging absently at a loose thread on his pants. "A lot like here. Just, you know, less green more machine."

"You're very vague you know that." She says, plopping down on the bed beside him. The unspoken question evident in her eyes, _are__you__hiding__something?_

"Weather changes constantly, we don't have seasons like here." He dodges, still focusing in the loose thread. "So you might want to bring a little bit of everything." The truth was it had only just occurred to him how different her home was from his. Her home was a castle, with gold and silk at every crevice. His home was much simply, even after treasure he'd managed keep, the Benbow Inn was still very quaint. And Jim, always he rebel, had a lot of ghosts from his past. All of which were, for the most part, cratered in his small hometown.

Melody waits for more but he doesn't look up, and distantly- so vague and subtle if he weren't so silent she might not have noticed it at all- there was a nudge of space between them again. Though she's quick to brush it off as nothing, and instead returns to packing in relative silence.


	18. Chapter 18

She stares out from the boat, analyzing the high white stone walls and almost preening towers under the glittering sun. Melody looked at her home as if for the first time, trying to see what perhaps Jim had seen on his first day there. She smiles, thinking of how he'd reacted when he realized it was the place she called home. She thinks back to that first dinner, when she'd wished she had simply gone to entertain Thomas and Mr. Herms instead of feigning illness. How it might've meant meeting Jim under different circumstances, or not at all. Thinking back on it now she hopes she never comes to regret that thought, unknowing what they would come to mean to each other. It all seemed so long ago, but in truth had been less than a month.

Time had flown past them and so much had happened.

Melody is pulled from her thoughts when Jim's hand slips into hers from behind. Her skirts hide the small gesture. It's one of the few things they've allowed themselves in the past couple of days. It felt like ages since she'd kissed him on the mouth, since he'd held her the way he had before. "What's wrong?" He asks.

"Nothing. A little nervous is all."

His tone becomes serious, "Mel, if you don't want to go just be honest with me."

It seemed a little ridiculous, that after all this he was still so unsure of her. Her things had already been boarded onto the ship, even the safe in Jim's quarters had been packed away with small blank coins of gold and silver for her personal use. Jim had explained to her father that there was no real currency per say on his planet but that people simply traded things of value.

Melody tightens her grip around his hand, as if it might reinforce her words, and looks up into his eyes. "I'm sure about this. I want to go with you."

He smiles in a sort of relieved way and almost leans in to kiss her lips when he leaps away with a yelp. "What the hell?" Jim shouts while rubbing his hand.

She is only confused for a brief moment when a low and lilted voice pipes up from the railing. "None ah'f dat funny business young mah'n." He says, waving his large crimson claw threateningly.

Melody is on the verge of scolding Sebastian, when a small strange blob of pink zooms past in her in a blur. It stops only briefly in front of Sebastian; she barely has enough time to get a good look at it before its entire form shifts into a kind of sword, floating in mid-air. Before either she or Jim can think of anything to say the two tiny creatures engage in a sort of small duel, with Sebastian rebutting clinking blows from the floating sword with his large claw.

"Of all the things I though could go wrong this morning…" She hears Jim mutter in a tone of distress. Not a moment letter does a sharp whistle escape his lips that the tiny duel ceases and what had been a sword a moment before morphed back into a floating pink blob with large doe eyes staring up at Jim- as if ready to take orders.

"Melody, this is Morph." It unnerves her a little how kindly he reaches out to the little creature, his finger crooked and the little Morph perched there as if it were indeed a bird or any other animal she had seen before. "Morph, this is Melody. She's coming home with us." The small creature gurgled adorably as it floated upward quickly, its eyes bulging from its head enormously like two large dinner plates, examining her quickly.

"Hello." She says brightly, hoping a good demeanor might affect Morph's review of her. Morph seems to give a chirping kind of sound that she thinks might be a laugh before he zooms forward, snuggling against her cheek warmly. More than warm, he seemed to thrum with a sort of heart that was just a step below scalding. Not hot enough to burn but perhaps enough to make one aware of his presence. She laughs just the same, and smiling the same smile she doesn't realize is making Jim stare at her in a sort of stupid daze.

"He approves." Jim says.

"Ay!" Sebastian calls, clicking and clacking his claws upward- demanding their attention.

Melody gently eases Morph into her cupped hands, holding him out carefully; he doesn't rest against her skin- as if aware of his difference in temperature- just floats in the vicinity of her cupped hands. "Jim. Morph. This is Sebastian."

"The right hand of his Majesty, King Triton!" Sebastian declares, giving a pomp bow to is new companions. Morph sticks out his tongue in a small childlike gesture of distaste. Though Melody loved Sebastian dearly she couldn't help but find Jim's companion entirely enchanting. Jim has to fight his own laughter when Sebastian clips his claw threateningly at Morph.

"Captain Hawkins?" Calls a man with a gravelly and aged voice. Jim turns to him and recognizes him as a man called, Grimsby, or more affectionately referred to by the royal family as Grim. "The luggage has been loaded into their assigned quarters, you are ready for departure at promptly six o'clock tonight. Sundown, should be dark enough to depart unnoticed."

"Thank you, Grimsby." Jim says. He turns to Melody who has clear wet tears glazing her eyes like colored glass. Before he can even ask what's wrong she lurches herself forward toward Grimsby, latching her arms around his thin and frail torso. Jim did not want to think about how many, or few, years the old man had left. It was evident that Melody would miss, but by her strong reaction Jim could only guess what she was thinking. What she feared…

Grim stood tall and rigid for a moment, as surprised as Jim at Melody's reaction. Slowly, however, his grim demeanor seemed to melt away as his poster relaxed and his papery hand patted her head gently. He smiled like a proud grandfather; indeed it was probably his truest role in her life. Triton was a good man but she hardly saw him, she loved him but she hadn't grown up with him the way she had with Grim. "There there." He said quietly though he did not cry. "Everything will be fine." Neither of them knows what he meant specifically. That she and Jim would be okay? The he would live long enough to see her return home? She doesn't ask, because the simple assurance is enough to stop that falling feeling from gripping her chest.

Slowly Melody lets him go, wiping at her tears and feeling childish. Grim tells them that an early goodbye dinner will be served at half past four before leaving again to make sure the plans were going smoothly. It was what he'd done all his life, made sure things went according to schedule, she wonders what she might've missed if it hadn't been for him. She smiles thoughtfully at his retreating back until she feels a warm and heavy hand at the small of her back. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

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After Melody leaves to get ready for dinner Jim sits on the bow of his ship, watching the sky get progressively darker. He thinks back to the day he first met her, when all the chaos started. He's surprised how clear the memory is, even that fluttering feeling in his chest at first sight returns. As if he were actually reliving it. It was like watching a holograph, his time there on earth. It made him nervous thinking about going back. To the place he called home, to the place he still shut up so many secrets he'd had yet to tell Melody.

He wondered if he was making the right decision. Would she still want him, if she knew those secrets? Or was he only trying to prolong the inevitable, maybe he knew deep down that she wouldn't accept him after she knew the truth. Maybe he was doing all this to keep her for just a while longer. The way someone who woke up from a perfect dream might lie still for hours in hopes of falling back to sleep and recapturing something they know they've already lost.

He spun the old compass in his hands, watching it glint sporadically against the dying light. He hated this, how his fears and worries ate at him when she wasn't around. When she wasn't there to keep his darkness at bay…

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A/N: I know this is a short chapter and not much but I felt I should give you guys something for sticking with the story so long even with such a long hiatus. I feel the need to explain that I am just swamped with schoolwork. I'm a college student on the verge of graduating. All my courses are senior level so the work is intensive and I am taking a full course load. Also recently I fell into a very deep slump of severe depression and fell into some old bad habits. I am seriously not trying to guilt-trip anyone I'm just giving you the facts of what I deal with on a day-in and day-out basis. Its also not easy for me to jot down ideas here and there because my personal computer is out of commission temporarily and I need to work around the school lab hours, and even then my homework comes first and there's no telling how long tat takes. I am trying very hard as of now to keep up with this story and I hope that even if you don't continue with the story yourselves that you have at least enjoyed the journey thus far. Thank you guys for always being so supportive.


	19. Chapter 19

Quick A/N: I'll be brief and just say thanks for everyone's kind reviews and for staying with the story as long as you have. I don't know if i mentioned this already but I've made fanart for this story over at my tumblr if you guys want to go check it out [it features manips from scenes from the story and a playlist] .com/tagged/jim+melody

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Melody bites her lip nervously. Descending the staircase she can see Jim waiting in the foyer, his back to her. He did not don his usual leather jacket and brown pants. Instead he fussed with the sleeves of a dark colored suit she recognized from the night of the ball. As handsome as he was in the suit she thinks she much prefers his usual attire. The suit was too stiff and confined. Melody doesn't even try to stifle her laugh when he tugs his fingers at the lining of the collar of the shirt.

He turns at the sound of her musical laughter and smirks up at her. Her dress is light and is a dark shade of blue that swirls around her legs with weightless ease. It surprises her how nervous she still gets when he looks at her that way. Or worse is the way she can't fight a blush when he looks at her with the same heavy-lidded eyes he had only a few nights ago, when she lost herself so far in him it seemed impossible to ever go back to a time before.

When she reaches the bottom of the steps he's there to take her hand in his. Although true to form the first thing he says, with a devilish glint in his eye, is "You're blushing."

"No I'm not." She whispers defensively. And if he didn't already know what she was thinking, he made damn sure she was now. For no sooner had she uttered the words than he took a quick glance around to make sure they wouldn't be seen before he pulled her quickly behind an enormous pillar. His mouth captured hers in abandon, and she felt every inch of him against her. I shiver ran up her spine as his hand trailed up her sides before pulling her closer. Secretly she loved this. When he took her in his arms and made the whole world go away.

It felt like hours when his lips began to slow against hers, no longer feverish but as if memorizing the way she kissed him and the taste of her skin. She's still breathless when the kissing stops and Jim merely nudges her cheek with his nose. "You okay?" He asks in tired sort of voice, as if kissing her had a drugging affect on him. She couldn't deny she felt the same.

"Are you?" She asks pointedly, trying to gather herself. She can feel his laugh vibrate through his chest in pleasant sort of way.

"Better." He says, pulling himself together faster than she does. Jim twines his hand through hers, gently pulling her away from the pillar and into the wash of oil lamps lining the walls. She's surprised when he stops suddenly, his hand tightening around hers. Melody looks back at him curiously, about to ask what's wrong. Instead he speaks first, looking at their clasped hands, "I love you Mel."

Normally when he said that it filled her with a bright and warm sense of relief, but the look in his eyes now was worried. She couldn't fathom why he looked that why, or why his hand held hers so tightly when not even moments ago he'd seemed weightless from any kind of cares. It made her worried. _What if he's changed his mind? About what? About everything… _But rather than let these doubts consume her, she couldn't deny the pressure of his hand in hers. It was real, none if it was a dream. And it couldn't be that they'd made it this far only to fall back again.

She closes the space between them and presses her lips to his cheek gently, whispering against his warm skin, "I love you too."

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The dinner was lovely. Melody's parents told stories, mostly from their past and about how they'd met. Only a few were about Melody herself. He sensed she prefered it that way. He remembered what she had said about the strain her relationship with her mother had been like most of her life. It was hard to ignore sometimes. Jim only wished there was something he could do about it. It makes him think about the relationship he'd had with his own father, a man he hadn't seen since the day he left him and his mother behind.

The meal had been extravagant and thankfully private, no worrying about Mr. Herms or his weasel, both of whom Jim had forgotten about most of the time. When it was over he could see the mixture of emotions all over Melody's face, she wasn't good at hiding her feelings he'd learned quickly enough. All he had to do was watch for the signs. When she fumbled her fingers she was nervous. The lightness of her blue eyes let him know when she was excited or anxious. And when she pursed her full lips he knew she was worried. She was all ticks and he prided himself secretly at having discovered them.

The King and Queen walked them down to the shore. Eric commented on the stars, pulling his wife closer as they walked side by side and fell a few steps back. Jim took Melody's hand, "You okay?" It had become a mantra over the past few days and her answer was always the same.

She nodded, the light wind blowing strands of her long black hair onto his shoulder. "So how does this go?" She asked vaguely, nodding to his ship that glinted in the moonlight as it rocked gently on the ink-like waves. "Will it be safe to travel when it's so dark?"

"It's the best time. Especially here, easier to hide a flying ship from wayward eyes. And easier to explain away as I'm told, most people awake at this hour tend to be drunkards. She laughed and he felt some of the tension in her recede. "It tends to be pretty dark up there too," He jerked his head to the sky above. "Depending on where you are."

She looked back discretely, her parents had fallen several paces behind. "I'm afraid." She says, still looking back. The King and Queen seemed oblivious.

He inhales deeply, as if he'd been afraid of it all along. "I promise I'll protect you, Melody." Jim waits for her to look him in the eyes. "With my life, I swear. But if you don't-"

She shook her head quickly, looking down at her feet. "That's not it."

"Then what is?" He asks gently, truly concerned what's had her so internally frazzled the past few days.

He watches as she takes a deep breath. "I'm afraid I'll want to stay. I'm afraid that I'll love you even more than I do now... and just leave them behind." Jim can't seem to do anything at first except to hold her hand tighter. How could he admit that her biggest fear right now was secretly what he hoped for. Of course he wouldn't want her to forget her parents or her life on earth. But he couldn't tell her that he'd hoped she'd love him enough to stay with him.

And just like that they were back again, in the same crossroads they always seemed to end up at. They were literally from two different worlds. Living happily ever after always seemed to require a major sacrifice from one or the other. Jim sigh, frowning at the invisible horizon, "You won't forget." He said simply, quietly. Melody wasn't sure what he meant but somehow found comfort in it anyway. To be honest Jim wasn't sure what he meant by it either.

She wouldn't forget her parents if she stayed with him.

She wouldn't forget him when she returned home, with or without him.

To himself, that no matter what happened he wouldn't forget her. Even if she left him behind for good...

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Jim stepped back once they reached the ship. Letting go of Melody's hand he left her to say goodbye to her parents properly. He watched from the ramp as she embraced her parents, a brief glimpse of moonlight peeking between the clouds illuminated a tear on her cheek perfectly. He knew she wanted to come with him, they'd fought so hard for this. Somehow he still felt like he was pulling her away sometimes. Sure enough she walked up the ramp to the boat, meeting him halfway she took his hand firmly in hers and said, "I'm ready." The brightest smile lit up her face and it took everything he had in the moment not to kiss her senseless, especially with her parents only a few feet away.

He led Melody onto the deck of the ship before helping the scarce crew members lift the ramp back onto the boat to be stored away again. Thomas was taking over the captainly duties for the moment, and Jim walked Melody over to the bow. He wanted to be with her when she experienced it for the first time. He remembered his first voyage like it was yesterday, his heart gave a tug at the faces he hadn't seen in more than a year. Doppler and Amelia. B.E.N. and his mother. Silver...

Thomas shouted orders to release the sails. Jim tucked a strand of Melody's hair back gently and gestured to the sails. She watched the normally gold sails rain down in silver, puffing up against the breeze as they reflected the stars above and the ocean waves lapping below. She gasped it was so beautiful. Jim smiled and was content just watch her as she was amazed by everything. Discretely he moves his hands to her waist, standing behind her to whisper in her ear, "Hold on."

As if on cue the ship lifted into the air, and jerked them awkwardly backward a step. It makes her laugh and lean against him. Her hair is blown against him again and he can smell the sea salt there and feel her warmth. "This is incredible." She whispered, a little giddy as the ship continued to reach upward. She felt like butterflies were in her stomach and and the thrill of adrenaline racing under her skin.

"You're incredible." He hadn't meant to say it outloud, she knew. He whispered it so low she wasn't entirely sure if she wasn't making it up herself.

No sooner had he said it than the ship had broken through the blanket of clouds. It was like being doused with the lightest mist, like the touch of ghost perhaps, she thought whimsically. He loved to hear her laugh, even more to just see her smile. He could hardly believe everything they'd gone through up til now. The higher they got she felt herself becoming lighter and lighter. At first she thought it was just the exhilaration, but when she looked down she almost had a heart attack as she realized her feet were no longer touching the ground. She reached behind her and grasped at Jim, one hand on the collar of his jacket and the other at the waist of his pants.

Briefly he flashed back to the first night he took her on his glider, how she'd held onto him almost the same way and how much it excited him them as it did now. "I love it when you do that." He said pressing a discrete kiss to the back of her hot neck.

"Activate gravity field!" She faintly heard Thomas yell from the helm. And suddenly they were back on the ground again.

"What was that?" She asked breathlessly. Jim explained as simply as he could what gravity was and how some planets had it naturally while others did not and how when one was out in the middle of space as they presently were, there was no gravity at all. So all galactic ships have a built in simulator for obvious reasons. He knew it was a lot for her to take in, as they had no real knowledge of this on earth yet. But Melody was smart and she caught on quick. She may not have known most of the mechanics and science that he did, he grew up with it. But there were moments where her understanding of the world and people and her own natural cleverness blew him away.

"It's beautiful up here." She said when the ship coasted to more of a sail.

"I'd hoped you would like it." He said, the sound of his voice was muffled funnily against her hair and she laughed.

"I wish we could stay here forever..." She said, running her thumb across the knuckles of his hand that still rested on her waist.

"It never gets old." Jim said, pulling her in closer. He wished the same. It seemed here in the half-way space between, nothing really mattered. Everything seemed less terrifying, and they had each other.

"I should have taken you to Atlantica before we left." Melody thought back to the last time she'd had this feeling, of pure amazement at the world. She been swimming with the dolphins, her first experience as a mermaid. Watching the beams of sunlight dance through the water for hours and never have to come up for air.

"Why didn't we?" He asked genuinely curious. Jim had been curious about Atlantica ever since she'd first told him. Absently he let one of his hands travel to the thin wisp of a gold chain that wound around her neck, the heavy locket resting beneath her bodice. He remembered clearly the image in it, a glittering ethereal castle under the sea.

"Atlantica, mermaids... its all an enormous secret. My own parents didn't even tell me until I found out for myself. They don't trust outsiders easily. That and this all happened so fast..."

"You don't have to make excuses."

"I know." She bit her lip. "It's just that you let me into your world so easily, I feel guilty for being so cautious."

"Don't." He said, tilting her chin to look back at him. "I get it. It's a dangerous secret. You trust me and they don't. Yet anyway."

She smiled and let him kiss her.

The touch was brief though for suddenly there was a loud crash and ship jerked forward.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I know, I'm a jerk. I promised someone this update yesterday and missed my deadline. Although in my defense it was because I was dealing with student loan issues. Same old same old, what won't college throw at me? Anyways, in apology I've returned with some smut. So enjoy!

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Melody looked around wildly, twisting around in the circle of Jim's arms, wondering if somehow they'd fallen under a small attack. But no, there were simply audible groans and a few curses, coming most notably from Jim- who besides a slightly miserable expression was otherwise completely calm. His beautiful face was tilted upward with eyes squeezed shut and brow furrowed.

"What was that?" She asked him, not entirely sure she shouldn't stop panicking.

"Thrusters." He said simply if not a little angrily.

"Excuse me?" She asks, not a moment later is Thomas calling to him as well.

"Thrusters." He says again, relaxing to finally look at her. His embrace now limp as he begins to walk toward the grate that led to the lower deck. She follows behind him because he's still talking. "This ship may look all nice but it's kind of a piece of crap." He kneels down and lifts the heavy metal grate with an audible grunt. He holds his hand out to help her down the stairs, it's sweet but secretly she hopes he does it to be polite and that he doesn't think she's as delicate as her mother would have liked for her to have been. "The thrusters, they work kind of like the oars you use on your ships. Help us move, I mean. But they do it more by kind of- well- exploding."

She is a little shocked by that and she can tell Jim was expecting it because he pauses briefly as he leads them down a long hallway. Their shoes thudding against the metal floor while gears whirl and pipes whistle on either side of them. "There's coils inside these kind of metal can things where the explosion happens, this ship tends to burn out those coils faster. An old ship with not entirely compatible parts. Its unpredictable how often they need to be replaced but apparently they would like it to happen sooner rather than later."

"How long will it take?"

"Depends if the coil fried anything else in there. Doubtful but it happens." They reach the back of the ship rather suddenly. The way Jim talked about she hadn't expected them to be quite so large, nearly as big as him, but in retrospect made sense since they did in fact propel a ship through the sky and stars.

"Can I help?" Melody asks as she watches Jim slide out a heavy tin box. He paused and turned to look at her, his brow furrowed in silent confusion before his lips tilted in a small smile. He looked as if he might kiss her again. "What?"

"Nothing." He says, shaking his head while using his boot to kick open the lid of the box. "You just surprise me sometimes."

That made her smile, though she tried to fight it. It gave her sense of pride, that she could clearly impress him. Even more so that he liked what made her, perhaps different from other girls he'd probably known. And just like that she didn't have to fight the smile anymore for it had completely fluttered away to be replaced by that nagging sense of insecurity coupled with something that felt very much like sea sickness. He'd had other women before, she'd always known that. Before it hadn't meant anything to her, but things had been very different then. She watched him go to the ground and lie on his back beneath one of the two thrusters.

He was handsome, he'd probably had his fill of beautiful women before he'd ever even laid eyes on her. She remembered that night of the masquerade, looking at herself in the mirror in that beautiful black gown. She remembered knowing she was attractive, and not really caring at the time. But she had been donned with make-up and fine fabrics, her hair expertly done. It all took effort, she tugged her hair over one shoulder as she sat down beside him. What did she look like now, without all the trapping? Could she even compare?

His voice pulls her from her thoughts. "Can you hand me that wrench? Its a stick-like thing with a horseshoe shaped end."

"You have such strange things." She says, handing him the only tool that matched his description. She can feel his laugh rumble gently through the floor. How many girls had made him laugh? How many had surprised him or kissed him... how many had loved him? And who were they? She didn't know. He knew her past, and Hanley hadn't been much to speak of. It hit her, suddenly. How fleeting this could be. Nothing was set in stone and it could be over an minute for any reason. Even if they had loved him, Jim clearly hadn't stuck around or vice versa. Was she like these phantom girls, would this be nothing but an aching memory in a few years? She shuddered to think it, she loved him so much and they had gone through so much...

"Pliers, they're like really clunky scissors." She has to dig a little but she finds them, rusted and squeaking as she hands them to him. "There should be a roll of copper wire in there too." She finds it, small but heavy in her hands.

Jim's hands work fast, she can only partially see him but the flex of his arm muscles is rapid as he twists parts into place with practiced familiarity. Watching him she can feel herself blush, her mind going to the memory of how he'd looked without clothes. His hands fisting in her hair as he held her close, close enough to feel the thrum of his heart like the thrum of his ship. Both flowing with a kind of spark. A life.

She does it on impulse. Melody stands, almost tripping over her skirt, and walks over to Jim. Placing one foot on either side of his body and fisting her hands on either side if his hips as well, each one grasping firmly his belt and bits of his shirt, she tugs him out rather gracefully from under the machinery.

She would have laughed at the expression on his face and the position of his arms mid air. She would have laughed if the heat weren't already radiating through her body. He doesn't have time to ask anything for no sooner had she pulled him out than she had kneeled down and straddled him. Melody leaned down so that her face was inches from his, her dark hair spilling over her shoulder, the uneven ends tickling his cheek distractingly.

"Is this what you meant by helping?" He asks, smiling in that way the sent butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach.

"Maybe." She says, trying to be coy. "Maybe this is my version of an interrogation."

"First, I think that is golden idea. I mean who wouldn't tell everything to beautiful woman straddling him."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"Other women would be beautiful." He lifts his hand to her face, running his knuckles across the curve of her cheek. "You would be something else entirely."

"Is that so?"

"It is so."

"I love you." She says seriously, as if it were very important at that moment, and not for the first time. Her eyes are focused on him and he can't look away, doesn't even want to.

"I know." The faintest strand of worry to his voice.

She leans forward more, so that her lips are so close she can feel his warm breaths sweeping over her skin. And its like the first time, she thinks. Where she can feel him everywhere and still not feel close enough. Jim pulls her down swiftly, unable to bear the distance another minute. Her lips are soft, he thinks, and smooth like sea glass. He can still smell the ocean on her, and the warmth of the sun that seemed embedded in her skin.

It makes him think of a tale he'd once heard one of her father's shipmen tell to a young boy, who incidentally reminded him of himself the first time he'd sailed on the RLS Legacy. Of a goddess of the sea. Beautiful, as they always were. She loved a landsman, and he loved her. A sea witch kept them apart, stole her siren's voice and bewitched the landsman to forget her and love another. It wasn't like the story she'd said of her mother, this goddess lived forever with a broken heart. Unable to make the landsman remember her, unable to make him love her again.

He wanted suddenly to tell he could never forget her, that he would fight everything and anyone to be with her. He would stay with her until the day she sent him away. Instead he kisses her more fiercely, as if trying to impart a piece of his soul into her- to keep with her always.

She loves the feel of his mouth, the passion in his movements. Sometimes he clung to her so desperately she wondered if they were not truly one being. It was moments like this that she could not believe she were ever insecure about his feelings toward her. It was moments like this when it felt like it really was just the two of them, nothing and no one else could possibly exist. She could feel his physical reaction to her, hard and pressing intimately against her. Could smell the scent of soap in his hair as his mouth moved below her jaw and she could feel the hard planes of his body through his flimsy shirt. She loved all those things. The heedy feeling of recklessness she felt with him. Melody loved _him_.

She felt his hand hike up her skirt roughly, one hand running against her stomach briefly before reaching into her underclothes. It was so unexpected she couldn't stifle the cry she gave as he touched her. Her hips already rocking to an irregular rhythm against his hand. She hadn't meant to actually have sex with him right there when she'd had the impulse to distract him, but it was already happening and-

Her train of thought disappeared when she felt him push one finger inside her and then another. She shook her head, unable to voice what she wanted. Melody could only fumble quickly with the small clasp on his trousers, and Jim helped her without hesitation. She lifted herself up shakily as he undid the zipper, no sooner had he freed himself than she was already sinking down on him. She bit her lip, her hair messy and hanging over her eyes. Cheeks flushed against her sun-like skin. She looked so perfect to him right then, coupled with what she was currently doing to him, he thought his heart might give out right then and there. He tried not to move as she sank down onto him, but she didn't seem to need as much patience this time. Already her hips were rocking, urging him to move inside her. Urging him to finish what she'd started.

She was moving fast and erratically, fighting toward her release like it was a life line. One of his hands fell firmly to hip, slowing her down- helping to find a pace. He thrusted his hips upward to meet her every move until they were in perfect tandem. His other hand went to the nape of her neck, pulling their faces close he stared into her heavy lidded eyes as he moved inside her. It was the most erotic feeling she'd ever had with him. More than kissing with her eyes closed, she made a mental note to save this memory. This feeling of him watching her reactions to him the moment they came to her eyes. This feeling of possession, though neither could say who belonged more to whom. Or if there was any difference at all.

He came first, her walls clenching around him was the final straw. He couldn't take it anymore. The hand he had on her hip moved to the place he knew she liked most to be touched. He helped bring her the last few steps to the edge. Her cry was like music, one of his favorite sounds as she shut her eyes tight. He full lips open, calling to him. He kissed her slowly as she came down.

His mouth slid away and she leaned her forehead against his, waiting for her heart and lungs to slow down. She hadn't realized how long it had been since the last time.

"We should get back, before Thomas sends someone to look for us." He says after a while.

"Mmm." He smiles and strokes her hair back, not feeling nearly as exhausted. If anything those last few moments made him want to do it all over again, right then and there. "You're tired, I can tell. I'll show you to your room before I head back." She nods against him, not really wanting to move but knowing that they were more than lucky they hadn't already been caught. She stands her legs still shaky. Suddenly acutely aware that her underclothes were missing, not being able to recall when they'd come off or who put them where.

"What are you looking for?" He says, pulling up his trousers.

"I'm naked under this skirt." She sweeps her eyes around the room once more. "I shouldn't be."

Jim laughs, pulling her to him from behind. He clenches his hand over her before whispering in her ear. "I kind of like it that way." On instinct she reached into his pocket, feeling the flimsy garment she'd been looking for there.

"I should take them back." She twists around so that they are face to face, her hand sliding out of his pocket empty. "But I think it does more more favor to let you fret about it."

"I don't fret." Jim leans closer. "I ponder and I worry, but no I don't fret." He moves to kiss her but she's already slipped away.

"I already know where my room is." She says without looking back as she disappears down the hallway, a kind of confidence that up til now she'd never really had before. But she knew with everything in her that he'd be thinking about their tryst and it made her feel a little powerful.

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A/N: i didn't have time to proof-read I just really wanted to post it ASAP, so sorry if there were a lot of errors.


	21. Chapter 21

"Well did you fix it?" The words came through a muffled tunnel in his mind. His mind was still stuck in that hallway with Melody and her dress up around her hips.

"Huh?"

"Did. You. Fix. The. Thrusters?" Thomas asked irritatedly and punctuating each word as if Jim had suddenly suffered a severe head injury. "You were down there long enough." He added with a tone obviousness and a hint of brotherly condescension.

"Yeah." He answers, trying to focus on anything but the memory of her hips swaying over him and the feel of her breath against his skin and just the general thought of her. He only barely succeeded. "We're good to go, I'll take over." Jim watched Thomas stalk away, clearly too irritated with his captain to argue.

Jim sunk into his spot behind the helm, easing the wheel as if it were a very extension of his own person. He belonged there, it was his true home- there among the skies and stars. He was completely content then, even if his ship was a belligerent old thing. He had Melody and for the most part he was his own captain, technically he had at least the option to kick Mr. Herms off at the next planet if he really wanted to. But he knew he wouldn't, after all these years Jim had finally learned to pick his battles. Beside the fact that it wouldn't be worth it to dispose of his squalid-souled temporary proprietor, he still had his mother to think of.

Jim's hands flexed around the wheel, its material softly worn so that it almost followed the shape of them. He thought of Melody again, her absence allowing the cold fingers of reality to flutter at his nape annoyingly and terrifyingly. Belatedly, Jim wondered if he was overreacting to it all. Maybe she wouldn't care... but deep down he knew that if she knew the full profundity of the truth he was keeping from her, she would definitely care. He pushed the thoughts away not for the for the first time, there was still a chance that she would never have to know and they could be happy for as long as fate would let them.

He looked up to the stars as they floated past, some swirling in brilliant clusters while others smoldered in solitude. It reminded him of Silver, the only father he'd ever really known. In fact Jim remembered the old cyborg more clearly than dim and distant face of his own real father. _You've got the makings of greatness in you_... The words floated through him like a lifeline. Jim would often wonder at those words, that faith pushing him in every endeavor he'd ever felt like quitting. Even now he wondered if Silver would be proud of him, what he might say to Jim's doubts and predicaments.

Suddenly he wondered if Silver would like Melody, and laughed just as quickly. Knowing that he would, Silver would trust her the way he himself trusted her.

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Melody made her way to her cabin easily. It wasn't until the door was shut behind her securely that she leaned back and let her body succumb to knee weakening feeling she would always get afterward. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, blushing at the memory. She'd never say it aloud but she relished it when she could see everything she was feeling reflected in him, that desire so intense it nearly burned everything else away, and she would know he felt as intensely for her as she did for him.

For the first time she felt completely unburdened. His touch had pushed all the fears and obstacles that had been building up for weeks in the pit of her stomach so very far away that at that moment she could hardly recall them. Suddenly it all felt so simple and so incredibly stunning all at once. Whatever came they would figure it out.

A light popping sound had her instantly opening her eyes and searching the room. Relief flooded her as she saw on the dark wooden nightstand Sebastian and Morph, the lighting popping sound she realized was his rather adorable snore, slept slumped back to back. Her smile returned and she pulled aside one of the thick pillows atop the bed, scooped the two small creatures as gently as possible before setting them down on it. Aware of their change in comfort they both adjusted in their sleep, snuggling into the softness of the down filled pillow. Melody stood watching them for few minutes, making sure she had not disturbed their slumber.

At the foot of the modest bed her trunk of clothing had been set. She ran her fingers of the cool brown leather, tracing the line of the lid to the front and unlatching the gold hooks. The trunk was very large, reaching just below her outstretched fingertips, and the lid alone was a heavy structure now further burdened by her nightclothes from which she pulled one at random. A modest white slip with long sleeves and square neckline, its hem- like all the others- swept the floor in a flourish.

Melody hung it absentmindedly over the edge of the bed as she walked behind the screen that had previously occupied her room and began to undress. As she slid off her gown she became acutely aware again of her missing garment. Pausing only a moment to think on it she continued undressing, trying to keep her mind off Jim as she moved to the laces on her corset- the difficulty of doing this single-handedly immediately making her wish for the assistance of that stormy-eyed boy. It took a few tries but she eventually freed herself from the damned thing- the rest of her clothes following quickly enough so that soon she was respectably dressed in her nightgown and crawling under the warmth of the covers.

She fell asleep almost instantly.

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When she opened her eyes again, the view from her tiny round window was still darkness and brilliant stars. However she felt distinctly well rested. A glance around the room told her that she was now its solitary inhabitant. Melody decided that it must be morning and went ahead to get ready. Although that proved to be more difficult than she anticipated.

At the castle, if she wanted to take a bath a large copper basin would be brought into her bedroom and filled with pots of heated water by the servants. In the corner of the cozy room was a porcelain basin similar to the kind she knew. It was very obviously bolted to the floor, understandably so since they were on a ship that could perhaps move unpredictably. But what wasn't so explicit to her were the thin copper tubes snaking under the basin stretching up behind it like the stem of a very tall flower. It made her think nostalgically of the curiously tall yellow flowers she used to see in the garden house, its seeds scavenged from some far off place she'd never been.

She shook the thoughts from her mind and set to focusing on the task at hand. Jim had mentioned to her once the concept of something she thought he might have called 'plumbing' in passing while she'd been packing. Melody had been so fascinated by all the things different between, there always seemed to be something new to learn about, that she'd eagerly persisted with questions. Jim hadn't answered any of them of course, he'd snaked his arms around her waist from behind and distracted her with his touch.

Melody would not be distracted by that memory now. She was about to fiddle with the little perforated bulb-like end that hung over the basin when she noticed a handle along the side of the longest copper tube. She lifted it experimentally. For a moment nothing happened, and then suddenly cold water splashed from above over her outstretched arm and half of her face. She gasped and snapped the handle back down on instinct, trying to undo what she'd done. The water stopped and her brief shock turned to light laughter. She was beaming as the water gathered at one end of the basin and disappeared through another perforated circle of copper.

Melody decided then that it wasn't just Jim she wanted to know more about. Every second and his world was really like a hundred little adventures. She stripped off all her clothes and went to stand inside the basin. Almost instantly after she stepped completely inside a thin wall of light appeared around the porcelain edge and stretched upward. Still smiling she turned on the water back on.

It wasn't until afterward that she realized what the wall of light had been. When she'd stepped out she noticed everything was dry around her, it had prevented the water from splattered the floor and her nearby change of clothes. Smiling still, she braided her hair and donned a simple dress the color of sun-bleached red coral that had capped sleeves, a newer fashion, and square neck.

Melody quickly slid on a pair of day slippers and hurried out the door.

They spend the next two weeks like that. She explores and he listens as she tells him her discoveries with wide eyes. Although she liked it best when he would explain things she didn't entirely understand, like how the thrusters made fire or how things called 'lasers' and 'holograms' worked. Melody would watch Jim with utter fascination as he explained them to her.

The two weeks seemed to fly by faster than either of them anticipated. Especially since it was so hard for them to be alone together after the first few days. Melody had pressed a kiss to Jim's lips without thinking, forgetting that they were out in the open. Sebastian had smiled and told the story for the thousandth time about how hard it had been to get her father to kiss her mother when they were young. Commenting on how much easier it would have been if she'd just thought to kiss him herself, Eric had been a very shy young lad when it came right down to it. Sebastian had laughed about it but kept wearily on her heels from then on out.

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The day came when they were to arrive at the Montressor Spaceport where they would return Mr. Herms and then depart again for the small planet on which Jim's mother ran her inn and where he had grown up. Melody had lain wide awake in her cabin from the moment she plopped down. She was so excited and nervous and somewhere internally terrified.

What if his mother didn't like her? She'd heard of other girls from fine families who'd been dropped from promising marriage agreements simply because their possible-mother-in-law hadn't taken to them kindly. Marriage wasn't even on the table, and her situation was hardly like any of those girls' situations. Still, Melody wanted desperately for Jim's mother to like her. Who could be a better judge of whether or not what she and Jim had stood even the slightest chance of surviving than the woman who had raised him and knew him and was essentially a part of him. The nervousness fluttered in the pit of her stomach.

"What if she hates me?" She asked to the emptiness around her.

It took a few hours, but eventually she succumbed to her exhaustion. Her mind still clattering noisily with questions and doubts.

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Jim had stood at the helm for the last vestiges of their journey. He argued to himself that his crew could hardly treat him as their captain if he didn't act like one. He knew how much loyalty and camaraderie was a factor in being a captain, in being a leader. Deep down he knew he was avoiding Melody. The closer they got to Montressor the more pointed his anxiety became.

For the past two weeks he'd shown her bits and pieces of himself, of his life, of his world.

Her curiosity never ebbed.

Jim unconsciously reached into his pocket, almost immediately his finger grazed a small metal loop- cold as ice from neglect. He did not pull it free from the confines of his jacket, he never did anymore- in fact for sometime he'd managed to forget about it completely. It worried him, that he could forget the promise he'd so fervently embedded in that object and to the carefree person for whom it had been intended.

His heart told him what he had with Melody was no fluke, but his mind couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong with him. If he could trade one for the other so easily.

The nausea seemed to roll in his stomach.

He wanted to rip the small object free from himself, fling it into the nothingness and never feel its weight on him again. However his hand remained in his pocket, stroking that cold little loop of metal, and he wondered.

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	22. Chapter 22

A/N [EDITED]: Sorry if you tried to read this chapter before in the few hours it was up. I realized a little late an inconsistency in the story and went back to fix it. Now, as you were...

A/N [original]: First of all, sorry for making you guys wait so long. No excuses just general uninspiredness and that fact that I'll be graduating from college soon is really what's kept me. I promise to finish this story before the end of the year, I know thats a deadline I can stick with. And just so you guys know I haven't been ignoring your generous comments I've posted responses to those who posed questions recently at the end of this chapter. Hope you guys like this one and please forgive any grammar mistakes- I don't really have time to write these and then go through them for corrections the way I'd like to.

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It had been a few years since he'd seen his mother face to face. With anyone else he might have wondered idly if he remembered that person correctly, had time stretched the shape of that person's mouth or the exact shade of their hair- the sound of their voice? As the ship pulled into port he spotted Sarah Hawkins in the crowd immediately.

No, he had not forgotten. Could never forget. Her glossy brown curls were tucked neatly beneath a pink bonnet, ever a lady. Her smile was delicate, maybe even a teensy bit sneaky. It was Jim's own smile. And her eyes still danced with life as she she waved to him from the crowd below.

He was home.

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Jim reached for Melody's hand as they docked. His grasp was firm, but it wasn't like before. Melody had always felt she was good at reading people, ever since she sincerely stopped trusting people wholeheartedly like a child. Morgana's treachery and her own betrayal of the people who had only meant to protect her had made sure of that. Sometimes Jim held her hand because he wanted her to know that he was there for her, she didn't need to say anything- he would be there just to be there. A pillar stronger than stone that she could lean on. Once, like at the ball, he had taken her hand to let her know that he would never let her go. It wouldn't matter if she chose Hanley and pushed him away, he was a part of her then and everyday after.

This was different. His stance was rigid but riddled with excitement, rippling beneath that stone-like surface. He wasn't looking at her. Instead his eyes were focused on a single spot in the crowd. Melody knew right away which was Sarah. Her face was Jim's face.

Jim had explained, what seemed like forever ago, that as a child his mother had been like a shelter in the storm of his life. A safe harbor. She was his home. Melody tightened her hand in Jim's. This was different. Now he needed her to be there, to be the one he could lean on. It made her heart swell in her chest so much that tears blurred her vision slightly. She didn't know which feeling was better. Being so desperately wanted by Jim, that he'd found her to be worth fighting for. Or being needed by him, that he'd dare bare even a sliver of vulnerability to her and her alone.

As the ship is secured to the dock and the ramp lowered it seems that for a few moments she can see Jim as a child as he plunges through the crowd- tugging her along like a toy. Melody can't help but smile, Jim's excitement infectious. She completely forgot about being nervous. As they get closer she feels him slacken and so she lets him go. Seeing him face to face with his mother she thinks that Jim has very clearly become a man in his years of absence. And that it is probably these facts, and all that they imply, that make tears pour so heavily from Sarah's eyes as she's lifted up into Jim's embrace. Through the crowd she can only see his mouth shape the words 'I missed you'.

Melody had never been away from home for longer than a week, not only might this trip present a challenge but she couldn't imagine how either Jim or Sarah felt about seeing each other again. She thought of her own parents, now so far away, and felt a faint tug on her heartstrings. There it was again. That choice. Between duty and love. Choose Jim and probably not see her parents or home for years at a time. Choosing her birthright meant leaving Jim to the world, probably _never_ seeing him again. Who would want to open old wounds by keeping in touch with the one who left you heartbroken?

Suddenly she realized Sarah was staring at her with wide eyes over Jim's shoulder. She whispered something to him that had Jim turning around with that beautiful beaming smile on his face. He held out his hand toward's Melody, beckoning her closer into what had felt like their person space- this little bubble that for years had just been the two of them. It felt like an honor just to be asked to step into it for a while.

"Mom, this is Melody." He said as she stepped forward, resisting the urge to curtsy. Jim had told her beforehand that his home planet was pretty informal, things she'd been taught since birth were considered silly and slightly pompous here.

"Hello, Mrs. Hawkins." She said stretching out her hand to the other woman, quietly wondering if she sounded as nervous to Sarah as she did to her own ears. She hoped not.

Sarah took her hand tentatively, her kind eyes searching Melody's face. For what, Melody didn't know. Maybe a sign that said 'BEWARE'. Something that might tell her whether or not Melody was good for Jim, if she could make him as happy as he deserved to be. "It's lovely to meet you Melody. I hope the trip wasn't too strenuous for you."

"No, not at all. It was very enjoyable."

"Good." Sarah said before turning to Jim. "Perhaps we should start heading to the Benbow." Jim nodded in affirmation, still beaming. As he turned to pick up her bags, which Thomas had kindly brought down while they exchanged pleasantries, Melody whispered to him, "Benbow?"

He laughed and said simply, "The Inn."

"Oh."

She clutched her purse closer as the crowd seemed suddenly thicker around her. But relaxed almost immediately when she heard a small yelp from the vicinity of her waist and remembered instantly the tiny passenger she held there. "Not yet Sebastian." She whispered into the bag. He said something while snapping his claws at her, but she couldn't hear him over the bustle of sound around her.

In fact, no sooner had she looked down to whisper than she was swallowed up in a rush of people. Or what she had assumed where people. Someone jostled her from her left. Melody's eyes bulged wide at the sight of the figure that brushed passed her, tentacles hung from his face that bore six eyes. Another shove from her right revealed a creature she could only describe as part elephant and part human. In fact when his mouth, bearing two large tusks, stretched wide to shout at her in passing all she heard was an almost deafening roar. Fear gripped her chest as she was tossed and throttled among the mass of strange creatures she could never have imagined. Of all the things Jim had told her, his descriptions hadn't prepared her for the reality of these creatures- these people.

In all the jostling it seemed she managed to irritate one more than most. Something large and towering stood before her, hissing and stepping slowly closer and closer. Looking up Melody gasped. The person before her resembled a large scorpion, vivid yellow eyes and talons everywhere it seemed. He continued hissing at her, speaking to her in what she remembered Jim saying was probably one of the many languages of the universe. She tried to gather her thoughts enough to speak, to somehow convey she didn't know what he was saying. Suddenly she released he was stretching forth one large blue and orange claw, reaching for the purse that held not just gold but Sebastian as well. Panicking Melody shoved the purse behind her back.

Before she could even reach for the small blade her father had given her several years ago- she almost always kept it on her person for times like this, though she'd only ever needed it once before today- a large figure appeared between her and her assailant. "I think ye' best be on yer way." A lilting voice warned the creature before them. Melody was surprised to see him leave, albeit not without a look of chagrin warping his ugly features into something almost pitiable.

Melody was worried that when her rescuer turned she would be equally frightened by his appearance if not more so. However, he was mostly obscured by a long cloak and when he turned his lifted hood cast his face in mostly shadow. "Ye alright miss?" He asked, his voice suddenly kind. She wanted to trust him, in fact she would be as kind as he had been to her but she vowed silently to remain on her guard.

Melody nodded, "Yes, yes I'm alright. Thank you for helping me."

"Come on, le's get you inside." He said, hobbling along the road. Even though his movements seemed labored she still had to struggle to keep up with him. The walk was short and the place he brought her to wasn't at all building itself, she was embarrassed to admit, was only a few feet larger than her chambers at the castle. But the figures that passed through its entrance seemed happy and lively. Melody was a little surprised when the man led her through a door at the back of the structure.

He bustled in ahead of her, which leant some comfort- it felt less like he was trying to trick her. The room itself was warm, and she could hear the numerous voices that filled the other room. As she tried to peer through the dimness of the room it suddenly came to vibrant gleaming life. The man it seemed had started the fire, as crackled and sparked when he poked it- it's light flashed off numerous pots and pans that hung from the ceiling. Melody realized then that they were in he kitchen of a tavern. In the center of this kitchen was a wide table, which she pulled a stool out from underneath to sit on.

"Yer an ert'ling, aren't ya?" He asked before turning around.

"Pardon me?" She asked, confused.

"Yer came from eart'. Lah'nd of da humans."

"Yes."

"And yer came wit' Cap'n Hawkins."

Suddenly startled and feeling slightly on edge, she asked, "How do you know-"

"Le's just say I got 'ol Jimbo's best interests in mind." She heard him take a deep breath before continuing. "Ye best stance yourself sturdy, ya may find may find me appearance a bit frightenin'."

Melody braced herself as he turned to her, tugging off his cloak with unsteady hands. She couldn't put into words all the horrible and grotesque features she'd been picturing, however none of them came close to what stood before her. He was half creature, half machine. The machine part of him was sturdy and intimidating, with a bright spot of golden light gleaming where his left eyes should have been. Her heart drooped a little at the other half of him. Yes, he was an unnamable creature to her, but what was there was aged and slumped- his one natural eye kind as her own grandfather's.

"What-"

"Ah'm what ye'd call a cyborg." He said smiling. "Wahsn't always like 'tis. Jus' a long story 's all."

She nodded, understanding how a story that ended like that might not want to be told. "You mentioned Jim, how did you know I was with him?"

Melody watched the cyborg reach into a barrel by the fire, pulling out two pink spheres. He rolled them across the table to her. "Ye' look hungry. 'Ahs an ert'ling its best 'tah start ya off wit' sometin' familiar." Melody reached for one of the little pink spheres, each smaller than her fist. It was nothing she'd ever seen before but its skin was soft like a plum, but its insides were much less firm. She held it delicately for fear of squishing it. "Ye' met Jim on eart'." The man said as he set a large pot of water over the fire.

Melody took a tentative bite of the little pink sphere, it was a bittersweet taste but not unpleasant. "Yes." She confirmed after swallowing down the foreign fruit.

"Wahs' yer buisness wit' him?" The cyborg asked pointedly as he tossed a number of strange looking vegetables on the table. Melody was startled by such a question from a complete stranger, but she found herself answering when she realized this was how Jim must have felt when her father spoke to him. Like someone not to be trusted.

"I love him." She said simply and honestly.

"Ahn' does he love ya?"

She paused for a moment, her memory suddenly pulled back in time. She saw Jim in her mind's eye. The first time she saw him, gazing at her through water- his eyes wide and stunned. That first kiss the night over the ocean on his glider. Jim glaring at Hanley as he held her hand. That kiss in the rain. The stolen moment on the ship. "Yes." She said almost breathlessly, the memories sitting warmly in her chest.

The cyborg turned from her to toss the vegetables whole into the pot, smiling gently. "'Ah never t'ought I'd see 'ta day..." She heard him whisper. Melody felt a pang in her chest at the sound of his voice, bittersweet like the fruit. She took another bite and watched him cook for a little while. He asked her questions he and there, about her family and how they'd met. He'd laughed when she told him that story, saying that that sounded like Jim. Hard-headed to the end.

She didn't realized how long she'd been there until a woman came in, several years older than herself with blonde curls and a plump figure. The cyborg called her Maggie, and she smiled at them both before she too started bustling around the kitchen. "Maggie's takin' over fer me. 'Suppose i's time ta get yer back."

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The cyborg led Melody to small boat, he said the mining planet wasn't far but that they couldn't walk there as it was separate from the spaceport. Melody tugged her shawl closer as the boat floated into the air, the darkness and stars surrounding them. As they sailed the cyborg asked more questions about Jim, little things. Like if he was doing well, if he was happy. She told the cyborg that Jim was happier now, that she suspected he missed home more than he let on. The cyborg said that he'd never met anyone more important to Jim than his mother, the only person who had always been there for him. Melody agreed, though she knew Jim had more people that he cared about sincerely. Doppler and Amelia and B.E.N..

"'Tas the Inn." The cyborg said when they finally encroached on a hill in the distance, on which sat the large inn. Flowers seemed to curl all around it and its window glowed with soft light. It was like an oasis in a desert of sameness. The cyborg lowered the boat several yards away, on a road that lead straight to the inn. As she climbed out he said, "Ya take care now, 'dere probably missin' ya by now."

Melody looked to the elderly creature, his kind sad eyes as he made to leave. "He misses you." She said.

In that moment it seemed to dawn on the cyborg that she'd known who he was all along. She watched as he looked forlornly to the Inn, a tear escaping his real eye. "Ya can' tell 'im yer saw me." He said, stilling staring down the road, his voice suddenly heavy. "'S better 'tis way."

Melody stepped forward, and leaning over the edge of the boat she wrapped her arms around the old cyborg. "He's always remembered you fondly." She said quietly, hoping that would be enough.

She watched him head back down the way they came, silently wishing for his safe return. And when he became too small to see she whispered into the night, "Goodbye, Silver."

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RESPONSES:

A general thank you to all who have stuck with the story, new comers and the people who bug me to keep writing. It is greatly appreciated ;)

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**Guest:** i'm just wondering, melody is probably pregnant by now no? well, maybe she was really lucky xD

**Answer:** yeah i thought about making it a problem where Mel can't have kids but I realized I don't like that, simply because she feels like a character who would want children somewhere down the road. I've written characters who totally don't want children and don't need that to be happy but every character is different. So to answer your question, Mel lives in a fictional world and is just very lucky and will probably continue to be 'lucky' for most of the story. ;)

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**VeenaSheaShinara:** Corsets aren't actually that uncomfortable as long as they are the right size, boning, tightened correctly and are not he waist training kind. I have several I wear over simple blouses with a skirt. ( they were made to be seen and aren't the langrie type. Great for costume parties too)

**Response:** I have a friend who is studying fashion design in new york, I used the information he gave me about corsets while writing that portion of the story. Corsets today are actually very different from ones made way back in the day, which are the kind that Mel would be wearing. She is existing in a time where corsets are kind of the new fad in her late teens, she wouldn't have trained in them the way that would later on become typical. My friend informed me that original corsets were made from stiff material and most often with whale boning. Their construction was intended to make the upper body appear like V shape, and the way your ribs are shaped- wide set- could make wearing corsets very uncomfortable as the fashion was to make the waist appear as small as possible. Constricting how much your lungs can expand when a corset is basically compacting all your insides tightly together. Many women suffered fainting spells from this. This is just the information I used in writing this, thanks for reading and hope you'll stay with us despite my long absence. :)


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I know, I'm a horrible human being. But alas here it is, hope you enjoy and again I apologize for a promise I didn't keep and for an extremely long hiatus. Forgive me?**

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"Oh thank goodness you're alright!" Sarah exclaimed as soon as Melody passed through the door. "Ben!" She shouted as she crossed the room to take Melody's hand. No sooner had Sarah called than a bumbling mess of wires and sputtering metal came barreling through a swinging door at the back of the room. "Ben, go find Jim and tell him Melody came back."

"Oh! Oh! Yes, ma'am! Must find Jim! Must find Jimmy-Jim-Jim!" The robot chanted as barreled out the front door. He was gone as quickly as he had come.

Suddenly the room was so quiet she could have heard a pin drop. "Where is Jim?" She asked Sarah finally.

Sarah seemed to come to her senses quickly then. "He went out looking for you." She said breathlessly before pulling Melody into the nearest chair. "After we lost you in the crowd he insisted on going to look for you himself. He's been gone half the day."

Melody felt the guilt creeping into her stomach as Sarah poured her a cup of what she assumed was tea. She shouldn't have stayed so long with Silver, although deep down she knew the old cyborg had needed some quality time with Jim even if it was indirect. "I'm sorry I made everyone worry, it just took awhile to find my way back after I'd gotten lost."

Sarah laughed lightly, "Don't apologize, Melody. It was an accident. If anything we should have kept a closer eye on you, this really is a whole new world for you." After a moment she asked in a confused voice, "How did you ever manage to find your way from the spaceport?"

Melody smiled back and took a sip of the warm tea in front of her. "Someone very kind ferried me here."

That seemed to be enough for Sarah. Melody sat at the table awhile by herself as Sarah moved around between there and the kitchen, cleaning. Melody thought that in this way Jim was not like his mother. Sarah seemed to flutter around when she was anxious, busy hands to keep her mind occupied. Jim was the opposite, anxiety made his outer shell like steel. Calm and cool, never hinting at the feelings boiling beneath the surface.

Melody nearly dropped her cup when she remembered Sebastian. She lifted the purse from her side and gently laid it on the table. She knew before she opened the bag that he was sleeping, the sound of quiet snoring alerted her to that. She smiled at how funny it was that this tired old crab, who could fall asleep midsentence, was her chaperone. She smiled down at him before pulling a handkerchief from beside him and wrapped it around him like a blanket. She pushed the candle on the table a little closer so that he wouldn't be cold.

It wasn't too long before the door was being thrown open once more. She turned to see Jim framed in the doorway, a frantic look in his eye and his hair windswept. He crossed the room in three long strides and pulled her into his arms. "Mel." Was all said as he held her.

"It's alright." She assured him, stroking the nape of his neck. "I'm fine." He didn't loose his hold at her words. "We're fine." Melody continued to stroke his hair, waiting patiently for him to calm down. She didn't know how long they stood like that before the tension finally seemed to melt from his shoulders. Jim pulled back just enough to lean his forehead against hers.

"I'm so sorry-"

"It's no one's fault." She said quietly, cutting him off. "It was an accident and everyone's alright."

He looked as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. Instead he just stood there with her, holding them close. A part of Melody blushed at the open display of affection, especially in front of his mother. Apart of her itched to nudge Jim away to respectable distance, it would have been expected of her on Earth. She didn't know the protocol here, and she couldn't turn to gauge Sarah's reaction to their obvious intimacy.

The truth was that all her worrying was pointless. Jim wouldn't have released her if all the stars and moons threatened to come down on his head. Sure Melody was calm now, but she didn't know how dangerous things really were, especially at the spaceport. At the best of his worries, thieves could have easily killed her for the price of her simple shoes, he did not dare voice the worst of his worries even in his own head.

_It is my fault_, he thought.

Everything that had happened and everything he feared would pass was his doing.

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It's drugging, she thinks, like always. Just being so close to him. His smell, his strong hold and steady breath on the exposed part of her shoulder. She doesn't even hear the others when they exit quietly. They sway as she leans into him, all the tension and anxiety she hadn't realized had been building up inside of her for the past few days seemed to reach a crest inside of her. Somehow, miraculously, instead of exploding it slipped from her shoulders like silk. Her fingers clenched in the folds of his jacket, the leather tough and weatherbeaten beneath her fingertips, she held him tighter. Jim was like a talisman to all the negativity in her heart, all the fears that crowded her head.

For the first time since they'd met, she didn't doubt his permanence in her life. She'd told herself for weeks now that she'd be okay with however this ended, because at least they'd had something in their impossible circumstances. Now, Melody realized she wanted it all with him. She didn't know how they'd do it, but now she didn't doubt that they could.

It was surreal, feeling that final wall around her heart- the one she'd built specifically for him- crumble. He was in all the way, and she was safe.

"I love you James Pleiades Hawkins." She whispered with a small laugh.

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It was so quiet in the room that her words, though whispered, still managed to startle him. His mouth opened to say that he loved her too, but the words wouldn't come. How could he say them now? Jim could feel it, that they were standing on the precipice of something, if he went one way there was no turning back. 'I love you, too' implied that she could trust him. The more time that passed, the less sure he felt that was true.

"I know." Was all he could manage. He turned to look at her and saw the exhaustion settled in her features. "Let's get some sleep."

Melody nodded, her eyelids heavy as she looked up at him. Jim smiled back, though it was weighted with heavy thoughts. He carefully led her up the stairs and into the room across from the one his mother kept solely for him, though he'd only ever gotten to spend a handful of nights there since graduating from the academy. His childhood knick-knacks were there in an old trunk at the foot of the bed but there was hardly any other sign that the room belonged to any specific person.

Melody's room was the same as all the other at the inn. Soft pale blue sheets covered a moderately large bed set against the furthest wall beneath a window. Against the opposite wall stood a dark wardrobe that reached from floor to ceiling, the door the the left of it led to a small private bathroom with a shower. It was nice, sometimes he thought it was too nice for the drifters that frequented the Benbow Inn. Men with a traveling trade like his own.

Jim tugged Melody gently around the trunks of her belongings that had been set at the foot of her bed- she'd nearly tripped over them in her drowsy state. He let go of her for the first time since she'd come back to tug down the thick comforter on the bed. He'd only turned his back for moment. When he look to her again her dress was slipping down her body to pool at her feet and she was tugging at the laces on her corset. For a moment Jim forgot how much he hated cage-like contraption and could only admire the way her fingers tripped over the crisscrossing ribbons, a reminder that not even clumsiness could make her any less seductive to him.

"Here, let me help." He said quietly as he reached out to unlace the last few rows of ribbons, her long hair brushing his knuckles as he went. She lifted her arms as he helped her slide it off, leaving her in a shift that just brushed the tops of her knees. For once removing it wasn't at the forefront of his thoughts, though it flickered in the background as it always did.

Jim thought back to the day they met, recalling it with crystal clarity. He'd gone into the water prepared for a threat and instead encountered someone he couldn't have ever prepared himself for. Could have never guarded himself against loving wholeheartedly. As he looked into her eyes he didn't see the walls or doors or reality behind her. All he could see was her dark hair and white shift floating around her, her piercing eyes full of curiosity moments before the fear that made her flee.

The fear that he was a threat to her.

"Stay with me." Her voice drifted up to him, breaking his reverie.

"Always." He said without hesitation, meaning it with every fiber of himself. She helped him pull his jacket off, and she hung it from the bedpost as he kicked off his boots and tossed his shirt beside them. Melody slid beneath the covers first and Jim followed deftly behind. He watched her, entranced as she curled up against his chest, taking his hand to drape his arm over her like another blanket. Hesitantly he flexed his hand before letting it span her back, running it up and down along her spine. Jim remembered, before he knew he loved her, thinking how fragile she was. Now he wondered, as he felt her drift off into sleep, if beneath the sun-kissed skin and wide eyes the bones below and lacing muscle were not as strong as his own. Perhaps stronger.

He hoped they were.

As night crept on sleep teased his senses. So he listened to her breathing like a lullaby and memorized the look of her in complete peace like he used to memorize the tale of Treasure Planet. This was paradise, he thought. For a night the past was just that, things that happened a long time ago. Choices then were not the choices he was making today.

I choose this, he thought finally as sleep consumed him.

That had to be worth something.

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Melody turned over in her sleep on the narrow bed beneath them, and then soft thud broke through her usually dense sleep. Drowsily she opened her eyes, finding nothing but darkness highlighted only by a gentle glow of moonlight. It was by chance that she glance over the edge of the bed and on the floor saw Jim's leather jacket crumpled there. Vaguely she realized she must have knocked it down in her sleep.

She reached down for it, grasping at it aimlessly to replace on the bed post. However as she pulled it up to her, a small tinkling sound echoed the silent room as something fell from its pocket. Sparked visible by the blue moonlight she watched dazed as a small metal ring rolled in a spiral on the floor before falling finally silent against the wooden panels. Curious, Melody looked behind her at Jim who rested peacefully and entirely oblivious to her discovery. She lifted his arm off her gently so as not to disturb him and slipped out from soft sheets and his warm touch. The floor was cool beneath her bare feet as she padded over to the tiny object, still glinting on the floor.

She reached to pick it up, her long fingers looking almost delicate in the darkness. Melody gasped as she realized it was a small silver ring with three small diamonds embedded along the outside. As she examined the pretty piece she read the inscription inside.

_my promise kept_

Melody smiled to herself. Her curiosity was too tempting though and she looked back at Jim to make sure he was still fast asleep. He remained still on the bed, his breathing long and even. Assured that he was still asleep she carefully slid the ring on her left ring finger.

For moment her excitement ebbed a little as the ring slid only partway on and would go no further.

It was too small.

But even that made her want to giggle, it was hardly a crime that he didn't know what size ring she wore. In fact she was subconsciously flattered he thought her hands so delicate. It was something she'd been self-conscious of growing up as one of the girls at court had mocked her for being so indelicate from manner the fingertips. Melody ran her fingers along the smooth edge of the ring, the childhood taunts long forgotten as they no longer held the sting they once had.

Jim wanted to marry her. Even after everything, even though nothing was certain... he wanted to marry her.

Relief and happiness spread through her as she pressed the cool metal to her lips and the the promise she thought lay there before returning it to his jacket pocket and herself to the warmth of the bed.

As sleep crept back over her she took comfort in the feeling that everything was falling into place, or so it seemed.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Alright guys, I have nothing to say but happy Labor Day Weekend to those in the states. To everyone else, happy update-day :)

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She is awakened by the sun on her face, peeking through the window and spilling over the bed in rays. Melody can feel the smile on her face and the placid feeling of her limbs beneath the thick covers. She was so comfortable that it took her a few minutes to realize that she was alone and that she had not started the night that way. Immediately she looked to the rumpled sheets beside her confused, only to confirm that they were indeed empty, when a thin scrap of paper pinned to his pillow caught her eye. She leaned over it gently and smiled again.

_Waiting for you in the kitchen, so get up already_

Her small laugh echoed in the quiet room as she threw the covers off and rushed to get ready. No, it wasn't poetry or sonnets of undying devotion. Nor would it ever be. It wasn't what she wanted from him and it just wasn't who Jim was anyway. He didn't throw his affections around carelessly, he guarded them like a flickering flame in an unending darkness. It made her appreciate these moments more than when Hanley had first presented her with a diamond ring the size of a hailstone or when another suitor before him had written a sonnet on how beautiful he'd found her to be. Thinking back on the latter made her cringe briefly now, no matter how well-intentioned it might have been. Melody had never been comfortable in the spotlight, even in a single person's affections.

Jim was different.

He had been in every single way since they'd met. Jim didn't keep her on a pedestal, she felt real and tangible in his presence. Not like a prize or a thing to be owned. He was honest and somehow his obstinate approach had only drawn her in. Because deep down she'd known, since she saw how Jim had reacted to the truth about Hanley, it wasn't her body he'd been after. Even that last time in the cave when he'd frightened her. She had pushed him away and he'd only clung tighter the only way he know how. She could forgive him for that now.

He'd never given up on her, even when the obstacles between them seemed insurmountable.

And now he wanted to marry her, she couldn't get over how crazy it all seemed.

Not out of empty desire or fortune or position... He just wanted her, it felt too good to be true.

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It hadn't taken her too long to get cleaned up after reading Jim's note. She had barely run her fingers through her hair and thrown on what she thought might've been a green or blue dress before nearly barreling through the kitchen door. So she wasn't surprised that breakfast was still being cooked but that Jim stood at the stove frantically cracking egg after egg into a sizzling pan. Behind him B.E.N. chopped and diced items she couldn't even name so quickly that, had he been human, she would have feared the loss of his fingers if not an entire limb. Sarah stood not to far away, the brightest smile of all as she whisked something with one hand in a large bowl cradled in the other.

Jim, it seemed, noticed her presence almost immediately. The smile on his face when he looked up at her, it lit up the room. He was so happy, happier than she'd ever really seen him. Melody couldn't describe the wonderful feeling spreading through her chest at seeing him so at ease. Absolutely no guard or walls up.

Melody didn't have much time to admire the moment, for no sooner had Jim spotted her than he dropped the pan and rushed over to pull her up into his arms. "Good morning." He said against her cheek.

"Morning." She hummed back as he set her back down on her feet. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Nope." He told her cheerfully as he guided her into a chair at the nearest table. "Just sit and watch the magic." She does as he says, her eyes following their frenetic movements all the while. It was like watching a dance, everything colorful and vibrant. The food was delicious too when they finally served it. Melody listened to Sarah talk about Jim as a boy and laughed at how B.E.N. described his many escapades with Jim before he left for the Academy.

After breakfast Jim pulled her aside, "If you're feeling up to it, I'd like to take you on a little adventure..."

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She had agreed immediately, their happy and vivacious manner was infectious. She wanted to do as much as possible, and learn as much about Jim and his home as she could. He led her to the front of the inn where a small carriage sat. It was similar to the ones her family employed at the castle, though where a horse should have been there sat a large snail-like creature. Though in theory it might have seemed frightening, the creature's large round eyes and cheerful demeanor- like a young puppy- made him entirely unthreatening and even adorable.

The ride itself is nothing particularly extraordinary, though the sight of the sunrise burning the dust on the rocks red. In the distance where the yellow sky fades to blue is a glowing sliver like the crescent moon, though she knows it is the hustling and bustling Montressor spaceport. She's surprised when they stop in the valley between two short plateaus. It's littered with enormous machinery, steel wheels and pulleys that sit like immobile giants frozen in time.

"What are we doing here?" She inquired as he helped her down from the carriage, a rucksack slung over one shoulder.

"_You_ are going to learn to solar surf. _I _will be teaching."

"You're not serious." She says, her eyes wide in shock.

"We don't have to-" He begins, but instead he's cut off by her outburst of excitement as she throws her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Her smile is glittering as she slips a few steps back.

"Of course I want to."

He slides the bag from his shoulder with a smirk. "Secondly, this part is also for you." Melody watches as he pulls out a chunk of worn black cloth and it isn't until he adds, "You can't learn in a dress", that she realizes with a surprise that he is holding a pair of pants. He presses the bag into her hands. "Here."

"You want me to change here." She asks, wide eyes skeptically viewing the canyon around them.

"It's abandoned." Jim points out as he lays his hand dramatically over his eyes. "I won't look, if that helps."

"It doesn't." She says, taking the bag and to Jim's surprise begins to strip right there.

"You could have done that behind those rocks." The devious smile on his face makes her distantly wonder what had ever made her think him angelic.

"If we really are alone," She says as she slides the dress from her shoulders and digging through the bag to pull on what she could only assume was one of his old shirts since it hung over her body like a drape. "It shouldn't matter, you've seen it all before. And if we're not," The pants were less of a struggle than she was expecting, though they hung low and strained snuggly over the curve of her hips. "My undergarments are more conservative than what I've seen most girls wearing on the streets."

He wants to laugh as she looks down to examine herself. The pants he gave her were an older pair of his from before he left the Academy, he didn't think they'd really fit much less that she'd look so seductive in them. The shirt was the cause for his amusement as it practically drowned her, the sleeves hanging over her hands. Jim steps over to her, reaching for the line of the shirt where the sleeve met the shoulder and ripped it cleanly off before doing the same to the other side, the worn out fabric giving away easily.

"I could have rolled them up, you didn't have to mutilate the poor thing."

"It's a shirt, Mel." He says with a lift of his brow, before suddenly dropping to his knees in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Melody asks, so embarrassed by the panic evident in her voice that she has to resist the urge to slap her forehead with her hand.

"Relax," He says, "I'm not gonna try to ravage you in the open." Smirking he pulls a pair of small boots from the bag at her feet. "Not unless you, ya' know, asked nicely, of course."

"You're cad sometimes you know." She says, putting her hands on his shoulders to balance herself and lifting her foot so he can slide on the black socks in his hand. There was something provocative about the way he pulled them on, the way he drew them up to the top of her calf and letting his touch linger all the way back over to her ankle. Melody has to shake the thoughts from her head. When didn't she find him provocative?

"That's a synonym for charming, right?" He quips, pulling the boots onto her feet.

"You're thinking of scoundrel." She says as he pulls the last buckle into place. However, no sooner had he tightened the clasp than she pushed him back on the ground, straddling his hips and leaning over him. Her mouth is on his just as quickly, soft and insistent. He can't even begin describe how good it feels when she's the one to take the initiative. When she's the one to seek him out, it isn't just physically arousing. When she starts it, he feels not just wanted but needed. She could have anyone, richer and less damaged... but she was with him. She chose him every time, and that truth never failed to send an electric kind of desire through him. Sparking his body into action, doing anything to make her feel what he was feeling.

His hands are busy alternating from grasping her hips to running firmly up her sides, when she pulls away. Breathing heavily as she looks down at his surprised face. "I'd love you Jim, if you were a charming prince or a scoundrel who kissed me in torn up hand-me-downs." Smiling Melody lifts her hand to brush back the soft strands of his hair. "I don't want you to think I love you because you're different from everything I've been groomed for, or because you're dangerous or unreasonably handsome."

She can see by the strained look on his face and the way he avoids her eyes that he's still unsure. So she begins to list them, the things that make her love him. "I love that you can fix anything you can get you're hands on. There's something in the way you give yourself to people, you take your time and it just makes learning about you all the more important." She fiddles with his shirt distractedly, unable to look at him as she speaks. "You're always in your head, and it's like I can see in your eyes what your thinking. You're so guarded, but you can read others so easily. You know exactly when to hold me and when to step back. And you're so kind, Jim..."

He can't help but squirm a little on the inside, he was lying to her and she was being so wonderful- "Why are saying all this?"

"I think you're afraid sometimes. Like you're trying to prove that you're good enough, and... Jim you don't have to." Melody lays her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her and see the honesty there. "You are a good man Jim Hawkins."

Jim let's his hand curl around the nape of her neck, pulling her down gently to kiss her. Just their lips pressed close, just feeling and painfully sweet. All the while though he's struggling to keep his guilt at bay, he wanted to keep this moment- as many as he could until it all came crumbling down on them. What she didn't know could destroy them...

When they pull apart the second time she's the first to stand, holding her hand out to him. "Okay, let's do this." Her radiant smile evinced her excitement for the promised lesson. He takes her hand, thinking to himself- with everything so perfect- it might be alright after all. Maybe he was worrying for nothing, love could be enough.

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"Okay." Jim says as he sets the large metal contraption on the ground in front of her. "First, let me show you how it works."

"Alright."

"At the tail-end here is the thruster, it's what's propelling the whole thing. It's like a controlled explosion. In front of that are two pedals, the pedal that will release or retract the sail is on the right, the one on the left will increase speed. Along the center is where the sail comes up, you can fly with or without it." He gestured to each part respectively as he explained. "Obviously flying without it is much more difficult, but brings me to my next point." She stays still as he moves behind her, placing his hands over her hips from behind. "The sail just helps control how you hit the wind, guiding is all up to you. And the best way to do that is from you're hips."

The breath in his voice shakes the strands at her temple softly. It's soothing and she's completely at ease as he guides her hips in figure eights and how to keep her upper body pin straight when angling her hips, so as not to flip over. Each move they do in tandem as he explains that her feet are almost always going to go in a different direction than her hips, a balancing act.

"Okay, go ahead and step on the board." Melody does as he says, placing her feet over the two outlined ovals on the board. Almost immediately loops lift up over the front and back ends of her right boot, securing it into place. "That's just so you don't loose the board in mid-air. The left doesn't have a strap so you can use it on pedals."

"I figured that."

"I'll go up with you for now, just until you feel comfortable without me. Go ahead and bring up the sail, it moves a little fast so be careful." She does as he says, leaning back slightly as the sail sprung into place. The sail was just like the ones on his ship, electric and humming with energy. As he moves back behind her he adds bitterly, "First time I built this thing I gave myself a concussion."

Melody can't help her burst of laughter as she reaches for the handlebar to steady herself. "I'm sorry for laughing but you can't imagine the image in my head right now."

"It's alright... my mother still laughs about it too." His statement only seems to make her laugh more. He just waits patiently, admiring the sound even if it is at his expense. It takes a few minutes, when her stomach muscles ache and she has to catch her breath, that she calms down enough to focus on the task at hand.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Melody says with a teary smile, waving her hands like a surrender. "Let's do this."

"Ok. So, first the thrusters. Just once to start it up." Melody hits her foot on the pedal once. The surfer lifts immediately, though only hovering barely a foot off the ground. She's also surprised by how slow they move compared to the last time she was on it.

"Why are we going so slow?"

"We aren't going any slower that a carriage." He says a little incredulously at her anxious tone. "There's no wind in the sail yet, we're gonna go straight for a minute or two..."

"Then what?"

"The tip off the cliff over there will give us enough wind to take off normally."

"Off the cliff?!" She quotes, suddenly panicked at the approaching precipice.

"We'll be fine." He says dismissively. "Okay, so we're about to go over any second. Hold on tight!" At that moment the ground dropped out from under them and they plummeted down. "Now hit the thruster hard and don't forget to steer the sail!"

Her foot slammed down hard, and in her panic she feared momentarily that she had broken it. To her relief they lifted smoothly into the air, no longer hurtling to the ground but soaring through the air. Melody felt weightless as the wind whipped her hair behind her, and blew through the edges of her clothes. Her heart raced as she hit the thruster again on instinct, though not quite as hard. Together they soared faster through the air, and in her periphery Melody saw the glitter of the sail. Something inside her wanted more, so she angled her body experimentally- just like Jim had shown her.

To her delight, the board moved like an extension of her body. It tilted whichever way she wanted, sometimes until they were completely horizontal- flying parallel to the ground far below. At one point she leaned on her back leg and tipped the front of the board downward, giving rapturous crow as they cut through the air. Jim could only hold on and enjoy the ride, smiling at the look on her face.

She was a natural.

He put his hands over hers, tilting the board back into the standard position. She looked back at him in confusion but she had no time to ask as he covered her mouth with his, she welcomed it like an instinct. It was her favorite kind of kiss, deep and smoldering- the kind that made her head go fuzzy and her chest tight. It was so incredible this time because as they slowed it was like her heart was falling back to her chest- like it had been chasing them the entire time. Her whole body tingled as one of his hands trailed up the front of her body to stroke the skin along her neck and jaw. It was all such a high. Distantly she wondered if this was normal, to be so addicted to kissing a single person?

To not even realize how much you needed it until it was already happening, and then not being able to imagine what life would be like without it.

Melody had never felt it before, not with Hanley anyway- her longest relationship. If she could even really call it that. Gradually he pulled away, the press of his lips shorter and shorter until he was simply resting his cheek against hers. It wasn't until he spoke, and she opened her eyes that she realized she'd forgotten they were flying, gliding gently through the air.

"Do you trust me, Mel?" The words echoed through her chest familiarly, he'd asked her once before the exact same. She'd hardly known him then, but her answer was the same.

Leaning into him, feeling his heart beat and breath as if they were her own, she answered assuredly, "Yes."

He didn't say anything else, but there was a solace they found in each others presence now that hadn't been there before.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: All I can say in advance is I'm really sorry about this. About the wait and for what's about to happen. Please don't throw stones.

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It was dusk when they finally returned to the inn. The low hanging sun and brilliant moons occupying the same sky still felt like a beautiful phenomenon to her and she couldn't help the way her gaze kept drifting upward to admire it. Melody still wore the clothes loaned to her by Jim, and she longed for a shower- both of them windswept and bright eyed. He's in the middle of saying something and opening the door the door when she is nearly scared out of her skin as they are met with a loud chorus of "SURPRISE!".

Looking inside she seas a pantheon of smiling but unrecognizable faces. She can't help but smile too, looking up at Jim beside her who seemed to be shocked into stillness. His eyes however are wide and unreadable as he stares at a single face in the crowed, Melody followed their line to pretty young woman around his own age. Her skin was like porcelain and her reddish brown hair hung in a think mass of curls. Melody could see her figure clear as day through her skin tight clothes. Melody couldn't explain the feeling in her chest at seeing Jim looking at another woman in such a way.

The raucous in the room began to die audibly as Jim still did not move, so Melody took it upon herself to give him a shove forward into their awaiting arms. It seemed to do the trick, suddenly he was embracing people left and right. Shaking hands and greeting old friends. Melody hung back and let them be. Eventually the woman who had been at the front of the crowd stepped forward toward Jim, walking up to him carefully- her eyes never leaving his. She reached her hands up to Jim's face, moving close to kiss him on the cheek- almost obscenely close to his mouth- and pressed herself up against him as one hand slid around his shoulder to pull him closer. "Welcome home, James." Her smokey voice could be heard even through the din of the crowd.

There was an ache in Melody's chest, even as he stepped out of the other woman's embrace and walked around to greet other guests. A wounded and irrational feeling was creeping in on her, she forcibly shook herself. She was being silly, it was exactly that- irrational. Melody grabbed the bag Jim had dropped by the door and headed into the nearest bathroom to change back into her dress. Inside she quickly splashed her face with cool water, rinsing off the grime of the day, before pulling on her dress and shoes. Her hair was a mess, but she could only rake her fingers through it to make it look at least decent.

Melody took a final look at herself in the mirror. She shook her head, feeling silly. She hated that feeling though, of being jealous. The way it snuck inside and poisoned all other thoughts. She had no reason to be suspicious of Jim. He hadn't even hugged the other girl back, just looked at her surprised. None of it mattered anyhow, she reasoned with herself, Jim had reaffirmed time and again that he loved her. That they belonged together. And then there was the ring he'd been hiding in his jacket. Suddenly she was grinning like a fool again, of course she had nothing to be worried about.

She kicked the bag into a nook under the sink before heading back out into the fray. When she stepped out she nearly ran right into the woman who'd caught her attention earlier. Melody mumbles an apology as she moves to the side to go search for Jim. She's surprised when the other women snatches her arm a fraction too tight, her smile too perfect- too forced- as she looked at Melody, handing her a cup.

"Hi, I'm Tess. You're Melody, right?" Melody nods carefully as Tess releases her arm, and she takes the drink from her extended hand. "I'm an old friend of Jim's, from the Academy."

Melody raises her brows in surprise, "So you're a captain as well?"

"Yes, Jim and I were thick as thieves. Though not as close as the two of you it seems." Tess seemed to have gauged the confusion on Melody's face because she elaborates, "Sarah told me when we were catching up. She says he's quite fond of you."

"I'm quite fond of him too." She responds carefully, there was something about Tess she didn't trust. Something she couldn't put her finger on, but it sat in the way Tess said Jim's name and the pointed way she stared down at Melody.

"I met Jim right after his expedition to Treasure Planet, he was so passionate then. Not like he is now, you've seemed to subdue him." There Melody recognized the hidden condemnation in Tess' comment, though she didn't have a chance to respond. "I lied a moment ago, when I said that Jim and I were old friends, we were much more than that. He chased me for a long time before I took him to my bed. He's such a good lover isn't he, gentle but knows when to take control. Taught him everything he knows..." She pauses only to take a long swig from her own cup, eyes peering down at Melody from over its rim.

Melody could feel the jealousy and resentment rising within her at Tess' every suggestion, the mental images of him being intimate with her- though she'd guessed he'd had lovers before her- made her stomach roll in resentment. But Melody was smarter than the other woman had given her credit for, she knew goading when she saw it- that anger was what she wanted from Melody, and she refused herself to give Tess the satisfaction. "Well he's very good, I certainly don't have any complaints. He doesn't seem to either."

"Ah, yes, but how would you know? Men hardly ever say what they're unhappy with. They just teeter off toward something better without so much as a goodbye."

"Yes, when I met him he did seem desperate for change. I suppose that explains quite a bit about you." Melody has to reign in the smile on her face at having won that exchange. Seeing Tess seethe at her words was liberating enough. Melody never enjoyed stomping on another person no matter how deserving- she knew all too well what it was like on the other side of that road. In that moment however she comforts herself with knowledge that Tess had tied her own noose. Melody pointedly sets her untouched cup on nearby table when she sees Jim, aiming to leave the awful conversation and Tess behind for the night.

"He is an uncanny actor then." She says, stilling Melody mid-step. "Though I suppose you made it easy for him, young and doe-eyed. I'll bet he was your first kiss too-"

Melody turns on her quickly, unable to bear the insults any further. "He chose me." She says, her voice full of finality. "He loves me. I'm sorry if that hurts you-"

Tess, however, is equally quick. She steps forward to Melody intimidatingly, her eyes fierce and unyielding as she speaks to Melody harshly. "Don't think for a minute that I need your pity. He may have gotten under your skirt but you're just a means to an end." She pauses to glance over at Jim, who seems to be distracted by tall lithe female in captains uniform with the face of a cat and a husband who resembled a canine and spoke animatedly- every now and then pushing his glasses up his nose. Melody tries to hold her ground as Tess turns her focus back on her. "He was mine before he ever met you, he made a promise to me... he had a ring and everything."

There's a sharp and sudden pain in Melody's chest. In her mind she flashes back to the night before, the little metal band that had rolled across the floor. _A promise kept_. "I wouldn't marry him without a penny to his name and told him so. He'd heard about Herms, doing business with a very wealthy king on earth. With a very pretty young wife..." Melody doesn't stop watching Jim as Tess drives the blade home, smiling obliviously and catching up with what seemed to be Captain Amelia and Doctor Doppler. She had wanted to meet them since Jim had first spoken of Treasure Planet. "You earth people are so closeted, an indiscretion like a royal affair is apparently enough to topple an entire kingdom. He figured a king might pay handsomely to silence a coconspirator to such a scandal."

"Why me?" She asks reflexively, her voice hollow in a daze and not really aware that she'd said anything at all. All Melody can do is look at Jim, so handsome and carefree. A part of her still trying to consolidate the scoundrel Tess was describing with her Jim. The other part of her, perhaps her heart, sinking into realization. A cruel voice inside her saying, _of course he didn't __**love**__ you_...

"I've already told you, sweetheart. You were so much easier. A daughter as a hostage is much better leverage than a mere scandal with a man's wife."

"I have no reason to believe you." She says, looking at Tess through glassy eyes. "Jim wouldn't-"

"But he did." Under Tess' gaze Melody feels exposed, as if the other girl were reading her every thought and insecurity. "And something tells me, that you already know something that proves I am not lying."

Her heart twists in her chest, and it feels as if a heavy lead and poisonous weight has dropped into the pit of her stomach. An unbearable sense of betrayal swam over her head, the kind that begged her to prove it all a lie. To find any way to make it not true. "Then why tell me, why ruin the whole plan now when you're supposedly so close?"

"Because, now I want him more than I want your money. I don't need it anymore. So if you go quietly, I won't have to extort your parents. We can all go on like none of it ever happened." Melody gives a sardonic laugh, wiping quickly at the single tear that dared to spill over. _It did happen though_, she thinks. "I'll let you think it over, confront him even if you'd like. But I think we both know you'll make the right decision."

Melody watches her walk away, all confidence and seething cruelty. She had to be lying, there was no possible chance that every moment with Jim had been a lie. It wasn't possible... She doesn't realize she's left the party until she's half way toward her room. About to walk in, her hand on the door knob, she turns to the next room over. Jim's room. Taking a quick look around, to make sure she was alone, she goes inside.

Jim had told her himself he hadn't been home in years, and it showed. The room was fairly sparse. The bed was the same simple one that all the rooms had, it's sheets a grayish blue with fluffed white pillows. The nightstand and lamp that sat on it were also the same as in every room. The only things that stood out were the adornments on the far wall. A large white flag, with red and blue stripes and a gold medallion was pinned there. Stepping closer she saw the medallion was a ship on clouds, she realized he must have gotten it from the academy. On the shelf below it sat several objects.

She unrolled a piece of paper, a map that seemed to dictate the stars. It was well worn, and some parts were faded but she was still able to find Montressor Spaceport. She set it back down as gently as she could, afraid for some reason to disturb anything in the quiet room. A tattered red book was set next to a small stuffed toy that resembled an alien she thinks she might've seen when she met Silver. Both bore scorch marks and she realized he must have salvaged them from the first Inn his mother owned after it burned down. She runs a finger over the head the little toy, it's fabric was threadbare and rough to the touch, but it's one eyed frown still made her smile slightly before reaching for the book.

The edges might've been gold once, but now they stood pale and glinted only faintly in the dull light the came in from the doorway. Melody gasps when she opens it, a ship somewhat like Jim's came literally soaring of the pages. It reminded her of the locket she still wore around her neck. She reaches over in an attempt to flip the heavy pages, but in her slackened grip a handful of papers slides out from its pages and across the floor.

Before she can even think to gather them, faces catch her eye. They were pictures. She picks them up carefully. One was a wanted picture, of whom she recognized Silver. One was of Jim, still a teenager, smiling with a wrench in one hand and sweat on his forehead. Another was a group of people, among whom she recognized Sarah and Jim, B.E.N., Amelia and Dr. Doppler and their children. One was of Jim with another group of people she did not recognize, save for one. A younger version of Tess and Jim stood casually in front of a ship, each of them smiling and windswept and covered in grime. The last of just the two of them. Jim had his arm around her, looking at her adoringly as she smiled at Melody. As if their past selves were mocking her as well.

It hit her suddenly, why she'd come into his room. To look for proof, and she held it in her hand. That and the ring. God, the ring-

"Mel?" She whips around quickly, the pictures sliding from her hands and back across the floor. She knew it was Jim before she looked, no one called her 'Mel' but him. She can feel her heart clinging to that, that last shred of hope that this was all some girl's twisted idea of a joke. She can see him though, framed in the door way, the light creating a halo around him. Looking at her worriedly, his eyes darting between the pictures on the floor and her silent face, and somehow she just knew...

"Tell me it isn't true." She whispers.

He looks at her tentatively before turning on the light inside the room, soft and warm, before closing the door behind him. He falls backward just an inch, his spine hitting the door with a gentle sound- until he's just leaning there... looking at her with his stormy eyes. Hiding something, always hiding something. Only difference this time was that she knew what he was hating. And she hated- God how she hated- that she wished she simply didn't know, that she might go back to being blissfully unaware.

"Tell me the truth." She demands, punctuating every word like the stroke of a hammer on the head of a nail. "That you only came to seduce _my mother_ for money... That you _used_ me instead. That even after we slept together, you pushed and you pushed! Until I had nothing left to give! Until I was so engrossed in you I couldn't breathe!"

"I fell in love with you." He interrupts, as if that might mean something to her now. As if anything could fix this. Jim can feel it now, his insides twisting like barbed wire, by the way she looked at him- with so much hate and disgust.

"No!" She says, rushing forward to slap him hard across the face. He takes it, knowing it was what he deserved. "You fell for your own lies. You love your ship. You love Tess. And you love money... Well here," Melody reaches into the pocket of her skirt, throwing the fistful of gold coins to the ground at his feet. "you can have it."

Jim reaches out for her quickly, turning them around to press her against the door and pin her arms to her sides. "I didn't bring you here to steal your money." But Melody fought against his hold, so much that he had to press forward- use his whole body to sustain her. "Listen, listen to me, Mel. Yes, I went with every intention of blackmailing your parents out of some money. I thought I was in love with Tess, and she refused to marry me because I wasn't rich." She shoves at him hard, but he persists. "I didn't plan on you! I fell in love with you, Mel. I don't know exactly when or what did it, but when I found out about Hanley I realized it was the perfect opportunity- to get the money and run." She was looking at him clearly now, her eyes watery and tracks running down her cheeks. "But I couldn't do it. You think I was playing you the whole time, but you were so far inside me... I couldn't think straight or see anything but you. You couldn't breathe but I was dying every second I was losing you. Money or no money, it didn't matter, I only wanted you. I still only want you, Mel."

When she remained still, he leaned forward, capturing her mouth. It was hard and bruising, he kissed her like he was losing her. Though, whatever fire it might've stoked with her or however her body might've felt electrified at his touch, it was all in vain. He had already lost her. She turned her head to the side with a faint cry, breaking their connection. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder, listening to her heavy breathing. "I found the ring last night..." She says, neither of them moving. "It fell out of your pocket. I thought-" The lump rises in her throat, cutting off the sound, her body refusing to be so vulnerable. "I thought it was for me..."

"I was gonna ask you." He admits quietly, closing his eyes against her warm skin. "After I'd found a way to tell you the truth."

"Is that your way of asking me?" She asks with a small laugh.

"Would you say yes?" He retorts with a slight grin.

She turns to look at him, the smile falling away. "No." She replies sadly, and he falls in love with the shape of her full mouth even as it presses a blade into his chest. "I need to go home, Jim."

With a sigh he turns back into the crook of her shoulder, burying his face there in defeat. "I know." After moment he realizes he's still pinning her, and moves a breath away. Still close, but no longer trapping her. "Does it matter at all that I love you?"

She looks at him carefully, still unable to be cruel. "Someday, maybe it will make a difference. But not today." Melody moves her hand to the spot where his shirt divided, where she could feel his heartbeat as solid and sturdy as the sun. "I can't look at you now without seeing her, without... trying to sort out what was a lie and what wasn't." She takes deep breath, adding, "I don't think I'll ever know."

The look he gives her is pained. He knows what she means, what she can't say outright because she still miraculously still cares about him. She doesn't trust him.

He moves his hands up to her face, the tips of his fingers combed in her soft dark hair. His touch is so gentle she can hardly stand it, as if he were holding the thinnest glass. Jim leans down close, his lips tickled by the flyaway strands as he says, "I know you don't believe me now, but someday you might. And when that day comes I want you to remember this: It was real, Mel. I don't remember what it feels like to not love you, and I don't really want to remember." He presses a kiss to her hair, eyes screwed shut tightly and breathing in one last time the smell of salt and sun and water.

Jim lets her go and forces himself to ignore that small sob she gives at his absence. He can't look at her without breaking, without being selfish and begging her to stay. So he keeps his eyes focused on the empty air before him and says, "First thing in the morning, I'll have Thomas take you back."

Melody watches him go, biting down hard on her lip to keep from asking him to stay. In the moment of loss, she knows, people will accept any consequence or indiscretion to avoid that separation. Anything to avoid that pain. But Melody knew, tomorrow those consequences and indiscretions would be there still and that they would make her just as angry and hurt as she felt the moment she first learned they were true. If they tried to stay together now, in spite of it, she knew they'd grow to resent each other. So she let's him go, waits until she can't hear the clunking of his heavy boots before reaching down to grab the picture of Jim by himself going to her room to gather her things for the morning, tucking it into the pocket of her skirt as she goes.


End file.
